Thus, the United States has experienced a demand for educational services catering to participants at various stages in life. The demand for skill development and upgrading has been met in a number of ways – through on-the-job training, at so-called corporate universities, and in a range of public and private institutions of higher learning.
Surveys conducted by the U.S. Department of Education show that participation in adult education programs expanded over the past decade, with 46 percent of all adults reportedly having been engaged in an adult education program in 1998-99. In part because much of the training is work-related, the rates of participation are positively related to formal educational attainment.