The Fifth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA V) held in Hamburg Germany, from 14 to 18 July 1997, marked a turning point in the conception of adult learning. The Conference organised by UNESCO and in particular the UNESCO Institute for Education in Hamburg, mobilised the co-operation and support of Member States and of a wide range of partners, including UN organisations, governmental and nongovernmental organisations and the private sector. The Hamburg Conference attended by over 1500 participants from over 130 countries was preceded by months of preparation drawing upon the educational realities and aspirations in the different regions of the world. Based on the regional meetings, a consensus emerged which found expression in the two key Conference documents The Hamburg Declaration on Adult Learning and The Agenda for the Future, which contain a series of more specific and detailed proposals with respect to each of the 10 themes of the Conference. In line with the follow-up to CONFINTEA V the UNESCO Institute for Education Hamburg has set up a co-ordination unit which collects information, disseminates, monitors and promotes the issues and policies framed within the documents. This report presents the contributions to theme five “Adult learning and the Changing World of Work” dealing in the three sessions with the most significant changes taking place in the world of work, their implications for programmes of adult learning and for policy directions in adult learning. The thematic network on work was represented by a wide range of UN organisations (ILO, World Bank, UNDP), universities and research associations as well as governmental organisations.