The costs of recurrent education

This paper addresses the subject of the likely costs of a particular form of recurrent education in the context of prospective movements in expenditure on conventional school and tertiary education activities. Data on projected enrolments and likely per student expenditure levels in these sectors lead to the conclusion that expenditure on school and tertiary education is likely to decline as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) over the next decade. The magnitude of this prospective decline is compared with the likely costs of a scheme which would enable significant numbers of workforce members to engage in recurrent periods of education and training over their working lives. Estimates of the direct and income - support costs of such a scheme are made. The conclusion is reached that, as a share of GDP, the likely size of these costs is of a similar order to the prospective decline in school and tertiary education expenditure over the next decade. This conclusion suggests that some increased provision for recurrent education programs as a response to technological change may be able to be made without any necessary increase in the proportion of the communities resources devoted to the education sector.