Major instrument for the mobility in adult education and training is Erasmus+ Programme, EU Programme in the fields of education, training, youth and sport for the period 2014-2020. Previous sectoral programme relevant for the mobility of adult learners and experts working in the adult education institution was Grundtvig. Both, predecessor programme Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) and Erasmus+ Programme are in Croatia managed by the National Agency – Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes. Croatia became full member of LLP in 2011, and Erasmus+ is implemented in Croatia since its beginning.

The aim of Erasmus+ in the field of adult education is to improve its quality across Europe. The Programme enables adult education staff to learn from each other and to develop strategic partnerships. It addresses common challenges such as the recognition of skills acquired outside the formal education system. The purpose is to make adult education more accessible and improve the skills of citizens across Europe.

Under Key Action 1 – Learning Mobility of Individuals opportunities for mobility are offered to the staff employed by an adult education organisation. The mobility activities, related to the adult education staff participating in mobility projects, are expected to produce the following outcomes:

• improved competences, linked to their professional profiles
• broader understanding of practices, policies and systems in education and training work across countries
• increased capacity to trigger changes in terms of modernisation and international opening within their educational organisations
• greater understanding of interconnections between formal and non-formal education, vocational training and the labour market respectively
• better quality of their work and activities in favour of adult learners
• greater understanding and responsiveness to social, linguistic and cultural diversity
• increased ability to address the needs of the disadvantaged
• increased opportunities for professional and career development
• improved foreign language competences
• increased motivation and satisfaction in their daily work.

Furthermore, under Key Action 2 - Cooperation for Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices, cooperation between institutions and organisations is facilitated through the establishment of international strategic partnerships.

Learner Mobility

Adult learners may participate within Key Action 2: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices.

Blended mobility of adult learners is enabled within the Erasmus+ Programmes, specifically within Strategic Partnerships (Key Action 2). Blended mobility refers to activities that combine one or more short physical mobility (up to 2 months in total) with virtual mobility (i.e. the use of information and communication technologies such as collaborative workspaces, live streaming, videoconferencing, social media, etc. to complement or prolong the learning outcomes of physical mobility).

Teacher and Trainer Mobility

Mobility of staff employed in adult education organisations is possible under the Erasmus+ programme in the form of following activities:

• teaching/training assignments allow staff of adult education organisations to teach or provide training at a partner organisation abroad

• structured courses or training events abroad which support the professional development of adult education staff
• job shadowing provides an opportunity for adult education staff to spend a period abroad in any relevant organisation active in the adult education field.

These activities are possible within Key Action 1 – Learning Mobility of Individuals, which addresses only staff, not adult education learners.

Mobility projects can last from 1 to 2 years. The mobility of staff can last from 2 days to 2 months. The mobility is possible to one of the countries included in the Erasmus+ Programme (28 EU member states, Lichtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Turkey and the Republic of North Macedonia). Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes implements programme Erasmus+ in Croatia.

Furthermore, in Strategic Partnerships staff employed in adult education organisations can participate in long-term teaching or training assignments (2 to 12 months) and short-term joint staff training events (3 days to 2 months).