The July editorial for the Australian Journal of Adult Learning (AJAL) is being written at a time when we find ourselves living in the second year of a global pandemic, which has changed the nature of how we live, work and learn in Australia and the rest of the world. We write this editorial at a time where many of us are again locked down, working from home and having limited face to face contact with others. We note the economic and social consequences of the pandemic on adult learners, many of whom engage in insecure work or require retraining after being furloughed due to the pandemic:

The social and economic vulnerability of many groups in the community has come to the fore, highlighting social inequalities that continue to be faced by certain marginalised groups including those who access adult education. As some adult community education providers in Australia are forced to close their face-to-face services, hard to reach learner populations are affected by further social isolation (Boren, Roumell & Roessger, 2020). Since COVID-19, the nature of how education providers including Adult Community Education deliver education has changed significantly and dramatically, exposing some learners to rely more heavily on digital technologies. For some learners the lack of appropriate or reliable internet services, often in regional parts of the country, or for those who lack the necessary digital literacies to stay connected and engaged with education face further isolation.

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