Institutional Adult Education Regimes: Continuing Vocational Education and Training Participation and Barriers in Germany, Sweden and The United Kingdom

This study investigates continuing vocational education and training (CVET) in three institutional contexts: Germany, Sweden, and The United Kingdom. Drawing on the first wave of PIAAC survey data’s unique questions and data availability, we analyse linkages between institutional regimes and socio-economic gradients in CVET participation and barriers to participation including self-reported constraints and lack of intrinsic interest. Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that differences in CVET participation reflect educational, labour market, and welfare state institutions. Results show that Sweden’s universal-collectivist regime fosters the highest participation with minimal disparities, while Germany’s corporatist regime shows lower participation and higher stratification. The UK’s liberal-individualist model exhibits moderate participation but sharp socio-economic inequalities, emphasizing financial and employer-related barriers. Resource constraints such as time and money emerge as prominent barriers across institutional contexts. We thus shed light on different skill formation institutions and the differences and similarities in human behaviours and perceptions across them. Our exploratory measurement of interest opens pathways for future research that was not thought possible with existing PIAAC data. These findings contribute to long-term institutional analysis and theory, and inform policy interventions to reduce barriers, increase interest, and support disadvantaged groups.