The number of people in informal education in 2016 amounted to 99,178, the National Statistics Office said.

It said in its adult education survey for 2016 that 19.3 per cent of those interviewed actively sought information about education and training possibilities.

The majority - 54.7 per cent - preferred to engage in learning activities through the use of a computer. The least preferred option was through learning centres, such as libraries. This method was sought by 19,559, or 19.7 per cent.

In total, 79,797 were enrolled in non-formal education. 62.3 per cent of them received teaching through courses, with 36.3 per cent attending workshops and 23.6 per cent saying they received on-the-job guided training. Private tuition was the least preferred method for such education, and only 7.9 per cent of the participants sought such method.

In the same year, 16,994 undertook some form of formal education. The majority - 92.3 per cent - sought to increase skills/knowledge in a subject of interest, 91.7 per cent sought to obtain a certificate, while 86.4 per cent stated that they wanted to improve their career prospects.

Respondents most often said that they took up informal education with the aim of improving the possibility of getting or changing a job, with 63.4 per cent citing this as their primary motivation. 

Among the outcomes of formal education, 69.9 per cent said that they performed better in their job following training, with 46.8 per cent saying that they had subsequently been promoted at their workplace.

Those interviewed were aged between 25 and 64.

In its continuous vocational training survey, for which it collected data from organisations that employed 10 or more people, the NSO found that, in 2014, 38,998 employees followed at least one CVT course.

While 61.6 per cent of the surveyed enterprises provided some form of CVT course, the remaining 38.4 per cent did not provide any form of training to their employees. Furthermore, surveyed enterprises employing 10-49 employees did not provide CVT courses.

Of the 739 enterprises that did not provide CVT courses of any other form of courses, 76.5 per cent indicated that the primary reason for not doing so was that the existing qualifications, skills and competences were in line with the needs of the enterprise at the time.