If the lockdown has meant more free time perhaps, like many people, you have been learning new skills and finding ways to develop your education. Such ‘lifelong learning’ benefits employees, businesses and governments, argues the World Economic Forum. Voluntarily pursuing new knowledge and skills throughout your life can not only bring about good health, wealth, quality of life and future prospects for yourself and your family, but it can have a hugely positive knock-on effects for companies who invest in the lifelong learning of their employees.
This article explores some of these effects in detail and suggests how you can kick start your own lifelong learning, or that of your employees.
Lifelong learning makes workers better at their jobs
Lifelong learning drives the economy by ensuring that workers are:
- More skilled
- More productive
- Happier
Both the Mental Health Foundation and the NHS recommend lifelong learning to improve mental wellbeing, life satisfaction and ability to cope with stress.
In turn, this helps promote longer working lives and decreases our dependence on the government when we retire. “Supporting learning in later life helps to delay the onset of dependency among rapidly ageing populations,” says Professor of Education, Alan Tuckett.
Technological advances drive the need for continuous education
Workers need to keep up with increasing shifts in the workplace, as industries and workplaces advance at an amazing pace. According to Forbes.com, “average human knowledge is doubling every 13 months”, and IBM predicts that in the next couple of years, the volume of information we produce could double every 11 hours.
What does this mean in practical terms? As jobs involving routine tasks that can be easily automated by technology are on the decline, this is increasing the need for workers to up-skill in order to perform jobs that require greater expertise. At the same time, jobs that need more cognitive skill and creativity are growing in number – this is great news for the lifelong learners amongst us.
Technology is driving the need for lifelong learning. “In many occupations it has become essential to acquire new skills as established ones become obsolete,” argues a special report by The Economist. “A college degree at the start of a working career does not answer the need for the continuous acquisition of new skills… Vocational training is good at giving people job-specific skills, but those, too, will need to be updated over and over again during a career lasting decades.”
If you want to be a lifelong employee, you need to be a lifelong learner. “Alongside personalised learning, personalised career pathing will fast become the new normal.”
The earlier you start, the better
Research has shown that those who adopt a habit of voluntary, self-motivated skill-building early on in their education or careers are more likely to invest in themselves throughout their lives.
Why not take a look at the new range of courses Dudley College is offering FREE to all adults living in the West Midlands area. All programmes are delivered entirely on line as part of our “Learn Anywhere” offer and will add to your CPD. New courses are being added weekly so if there’s nothing there yet that fits your need – check back throughout the summer months. Visit https://www.dudleycol.ac.uk/Courses/Learn-Anywhere to continue your Lifelong Learning journey.
