Adult Education and Local Economic Development in Australia

Adult education has not been considered to have had a strong connection with local economic development. Changing economic circumstances for Australia, however, have forced a reconsideration of the relationship of education more broadly to work and economic matters. In so doing it has become apparent that local adult education agencies have had a more intimate connection with this area than has previously been realised. This has become more apparent as the importance of local involvement in the decision making over local economic matters has become more critical. Training for employment, small business development, enterprise education, awareness programs, the encouragement of entrepreneurialism are all aspects of econontic development impacted upon by adult education and described in this paper.