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Investment in Qualitygender differentiation in the type of education received and theexistence of occupational and industrial segregation by gender inthe labour market (2000: 126).Lifelong LearningWhile participation levels in second and third level education haveincreased for young people, earlier failures in the system have left alarge minority of older age groups who are poorly equipped to takeadvantage of the new employment opportunities in the economy.This failure is particularly apparent in relation to adult literacy inIreland. When the literacy skills of adults (ages 16-64) in a range ofcountries in 1995 were profiled by the OECD, Ireland’sperformance was found to be poor in absolute and comparativeterms (OECD, 1997). The aim of the OECD’s Adult LiteracySurvey was not to assess attainment as such but to identify levels ofliteracy that were sufficient to cover demands at work, in the homeand the community. The survey found that between 23 and 25 percent of the Irish population scored at the lowest level (Level 1),meaning that they could at best perform tasks which required thereader to locate a simple piece of information in a text. Thispercentage was the highest in any of the countries surveyed, exceptfor Poland. By contrast, only 6 per cent and 10 per cent scored atLevel 1 in Sweden and the Netherlands respectively. About 33% ofthe Swedish respondents scored at the highest levels (Levels 4 and5) while the corresponding figure in Ireland was about 12% (DES,1998:31).The plight of many Irish adults is of major significance, not only interms of social inclusion but also in terms of competitiveness.Literacy problems pose severe problems for both the individualsconcerned and the economy; performance at Level 3 is considereddesirable in order to avoid difficulties in coping with social andeconomic life in contemporary society. Lifelong learning orcontinued learning is central in both addressing issues of inequalityand social justice and in developing personal and cultural developmentand an active citizenry.Analysis and recommendations on how to improve educational78