Adult Education & Family Literacy Week 2026: Learning Creates New Opportunities

Adult Education helps hard-working Americans secure employment and support themselves and their families. 

A recent study found that 79% of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have skills gaps, and in a cross-industry survey of more than 500 employers, one in three indicated that their average employee lacks the necessary literacy skills to perform their job effectively. Adult education can train students to fill the jobs industry needs today!

Learning Creates New Opportunities

The impact of these programs is illustrated by students like Mohamed Ahmed Abdula, who, before moving to the United States, spent 12 years wrongly imprisoned in his home country of Ethiopia, where he taught himself English using books and through help from other inmates. After his release, Mohamed moved to Kenya, where he lived as a refugee and earned money for his family by writing application letters for others who could not speak English.

When he arrived in Minnesota in 2016, Mohamed started working in basic jobs at parking garages and at the airport, while attending English language classes in the morning. In 2018, he was hired for a full-time custodial position at Minneapolis Public Schools. He then joined the MPS Adult Education program to work towards his GED. While working late shifts and attending school during the day, he passed his Math, Science, and Social Studies GED exams and is now studying to pass the Language Arts test. Mohamed also received a Boiler Engineer license through the State of Minnesota, and achieved a promotion to Custodian Supervisor at the Wilder Complex.

His advice to other immigrants? “Learn until you no longer can,” he said, encouraging those who come to the U.S. to not let fear or age stop them from going to school and pursuing a career. “Ask for help, make mistakes when learning English. You shouldn’t feel ashamed to learn, no matter your age or status.”

Close to achieving his High School diploma, Mohamed plans to take college courses in mechanical maintenance and advance his career in the field, proving that continuous learning creates new opportunities.

MPS Adult Education: A Year in Review

• Learners enrolled: 2,422 learners

• Student total hours: 192,197

• Graduates: 61 total. 40 GED and 21 Adult Diploma

• Volunteers: 81

• Volunteer Contact Hours: 2,047

• Student Country of Origin: 66

  • Somalia: 819

  • Ecuador: 424

  • United States: 295

  • Mexico: 160

  • Ethiopia: 153

• Primary Language: 45

Adult Education & Family Literacy Week is September 18-20

Once a year, educators from all over the country join together with adult learners, community partners, business leaders, and legislators to celebrate and amplify our voices.

Ways to show support:

• Let our elected officials know that adult education is important. By sending an email, you can tell lawmakers why you think it’s important that adult education is funded.

• Become an Adult Education volunteer and tutor adult immigrants, refugees and native-born Minnesotans as they learn English, study for the GED test or improve their reading and writing skills.
   

AICPA & CIMA. (2025). Mind the skills gap.
All In: The Adult Literacy & Learning Impact Network, “Advancing Adult Literacy: Mobilizing Business & the Beltway,” (2023).