H.06. Continuing Training for Self-Employed Workers: Lifelong Learning and Inclusive Democracy

The transformation of self-employment requires advanced continuing training frameworks that develop civic competencies, adaptability, and democratic engagement throughout the life course. This panel examines lifelong learning as a strategic means for empowering self-employed workers and strengthening social inclusion, individual agency, and democratic cohesion (Barricelli & Carolla). It critically evaluates innovative pedagogical paradigms that connect adult education with active citizenship, critical reflexivity, and social justice, drawing on education studies, labour economics, and democratic theory.

Empirical research shows that training pathways designed for self-employed workers, combining managerial skills, mentoring structures, and reflexive learning methodologies, significantly enhance individuals’ capacity to initiate and sustain autonomous enterprises while supporting vocational adaptation in increasingly volatile labour markets (Atarodi et al.). Recent studies indicate that technologies which increase work productivity tend to expand opportunities for highly qualified self-employed professionals, whereas technologies that reduce the need for human labour often generate involuntary individual self-employment among workers with fewer qualifications. This trend underscores the need for targeted initiatives for reskilling and professional renewal (Bachmann et al.).

The panel welcomes submissions that include empirical analyses of tailored training programmes for self-employed practitioners such as professional upskilling, digital literacies, and transversal competencies. It also invites theoretical examinations of lifelong learning policy frameworks and qualitative studies on learning practices that connect self-employment with democratic participation. Overall, the panel aims to reconceptualise continuing training as a key arena that links self-employment, inclusive citizenship, and democratic vitality, addressing important gaps in current research that explores the relationship between education and democracy.