The leading principle of the Strategy for Adult Education in Montenegro 2015-2025 refers to creating an environment for involving citizens in the lifelong learning process with a view to developing a competitive market economy, reducing unemployment and social exclusion. The focus on lifelong learning should allow for creating conditions for mobility and competitiveness in the European integration process.

The Strategy for Adult Education in Montenegro elaborates on the principles laid down by the Law on Adult Education and provides guidelines that Montenegro aspires to in the field of adult education. One of the basic principles which adult education is based on is the principle of lifelong learning. By adopting the Strategy for Adult Education, the country encourages the development of learning culture in order to improve and increase human capital that will strongly contribute to the development of the economy, reduction of unemployment, development of civil society and improvement of the quality of its citizens’ personal lives.

The priority goals identified in the Strategy are to:

• Increase the social inclusion of adult citizens through activities of lifelong learning and education
• Improve knowledge, skills and competences of adults for employability, labour market mobility and competitiveness
• Increase competences of employee in order to achieve faster economic growth
• Establish quality assurance system in adult education
• Ensure flexible and sustainable adult education system.

Adult education is carried out through formal education, non-formal, informal and self-directed learning.

One of the objectives of the Strategy for Development of Higher Education 2016-2020 is lifelong learning development. The road to achieving this objective implies the implementation of the following measures:

• Promoting the concept of lifelong education and its relevance within the academic and research community

• Networking with other social partners and recognising previous learning in continuous education
• Strengthening the teaching process, research and services provided by participating in lifelong learning activities
• Adopting procedures and guidelines for the recognition of non-formal and informal learning, prior learning and assessment procedures
• Establishing lifelong learning centres at higher education institutions, with the support of relevant institutions and organisations.

Adults may, for the purpose of acquiring a national vocational qualification and key skills, test or demonstrate knowledge, skills and competences, regardless of how they are acquired. Educational programmes and programmes of education are developed on a modular basis with qualification units and learning units that are credit rated, which provides for linking them to other programmes, as well as the possibility of their recognition.