我國公務人員終身學習因為目的與功能的不明確，其重要性與貢獻程度一直被質疑，已經淪為形式上的時數集點活動；相對於在國內不受到重視，終身學習自1970年代起即被多個國際重要組織看重且極力推廣，其目的就是為了因應愈來愈明顯的全球化、資訊化、科技化所帶來的快速變遷。終身學習的多元、自主、與彈性學習模式，能培養出這個變遷世代需要的人才。因此我國的公務人員終身學習制度勢必重新規劃與改革。為了瞭解現狀終身學習制度的問題，並探詢改革方向，本研究將終身學習的參與者與訓練的參與者進行比較，從兩者的特質差異探討訓練與終身學習在公務人力資源管理上的搭配策略。本研究分析2002-2012年政府人事資料庫與2012年由政治大學陳敦源教授所主持之「公部門陞遷制度之研究」之調查資料。結果發現，由於訓練的目的與功能明確，訓練的參與者通常有明確的職場目標與良好的績效；終身學習者的參與者，則自認為「工作績效還不錯，但同時也認為自己的專長無法在現職工作獲得表現」，且有較高的職位轉換次數。本文建議，終身學習的制度定位應要能明確，並清楚與訓練區隔；建議將訓練定調為組織本位，是與職位相關的培訓；而將終身學習定調為個人本位，著重公務人員職涯發展。

While it is emphasized by multiple international organizations, such as UNESCO, OECD, and EU, lifelong learning for public employees has earned little attention in Taiwan because it is poorly defined in the Civil Service Training and Continuing Education Act. However, the importance of lifelong learning is being raised due to the continuous and rapid changes caused by globalization and informatization. A single specialty and a lifetime-job have become impossible; interdisciplinary and self-directed learning are necessary. To cultivate employees to be able to survive and serve as leaders for the changing age, a drastic transformation of the lifelong learning system in the public sector in Taiwan is a must. This study aims to understand the status quo and the problems of the lifelong learning system for public employees in Taiwan by analyzing the traits of participants in the lifelong learning activities and comparing them with those of the participants in the training activities. In order to do this, this study poses two research questions: (1) What are the traits of participants in the lifelong learning and training activities, respectively? Are there any differences? (2) What do the differences mean from the viewpoint of public human resources management in terms of elevating the quality of public human resources? This study analyzes data from the government human resource database in Taiwan from 2002-2012 and survey data from “Research on the Promotion System in the Public Sector in Taiwan,” conducted by Dr. Don-Yun Chen from National Chengchi University in 2012. The results show that training-session participants had higher self-reported performance, and clear career goals; lifelong learning participants viewed themselves as performing well at work but feeling unsatisfied because they do not make use of their expertise on the job. They also were characterized by a higher work transfer rate. The results suggest the importance of a clear function of lifelong learning, which should be individual-oriented, contrary to training, which is organization-oriented.