Abstract
The study investigates family-related barriers to the lifelong learning of Kazakhstan's married students and the implications for workforce development and human resource policy․ The empirical basis of the research is a survey of 100 married students at Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University. The questionnaire consisted of 29 items‚ divided across four blocks of items: academic difficulties‚ social difficulties‚ family-related difficulties‚ and impact of difficulties on study‚ time use and psycho-emotional state․ Obtained data was processed in JASP using descriptive statistics‚ correlation analysis and a factor-based approach to interpreting the items․ By the results, the most common factors listed were time‚ financial pressure‚ lack of family care and emotional support‚ stress‚ lack of concentration‚ and attendance․ Respondents reported the most stress from their university and household duties (M = 4․01)‚ the lack of family support (M = 3․95)‚ being late for classes (M = 3․94)‚ and the lack of time for private and family life (M = 3․93)․ The results of the study suggest that married learners' motivations and barriers to participate in continuing education are influenced by family workload‚ economic and psychological stress․ From an HRM perspective‚ the findings are relevant for developing inclusive training‚ reskilling and lifelong learning policies for working adult learners with family responsibilities․ It also recommends that flexible working hours‚ targeted aid and consideration for family responsibilities should be part of sustainable workforce development․ Keywords: work–life balance, employee well-being, workforce development, lifelong learning, HR policies, family responsibilities