Lifelong Learning

Demographic and technological changes are transforming the world of work. These changes inevitably raise concerns about
the impact of this impending revolution on the number of jobs and the future of society. However, the ageing workforce and the so-called ‘rise of the robots’ do not need to presage the apocalypse that so many are predicting. Since the  rst industrial revolution, each wave of economic change has been met with public anxiety. Yet, in the long run, each bout of worry has proved misplaced. The lesson from these events is the importance of enabling people to re-skill and upskill in order to succeed in
the new economy. As the fourth industrial revolution continues to radically alter the world of work, reforming education and training will be of vital importance. There are four key areas where significant progress needs to be made to ensure the UK is prepared to succeed in this new economic landscape.

Curriculum

• The UK education system began to take shape in 1858, and featured mass public examinations based on pupils’ ability to recall information and apply standardised methods. This remains essentially the same way we educate today.
• The expansion of the internet means the labour market
• no longer rewards workers primarily for what they know, but for what they can do with what they know.
• UK education policy is at risk of turning our schools into ‘exam factories’ still teaching method and recall, the easiest skills to automate.
• Schools must refocus on the application of knowledge rather than simply the acquisition of it, to boost the level of soft skills in future generations.
• A welcome emphasis on coding and increased emphasis on Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects will provide stronger foundations for the digital revolution, but teaching new technologies using old approaches is no longer suitable.
• Education curricula should be independent of political interference and instead informed, and continuously re-examined, by an expert body of providers, businesses, academics and other stakeholders with a focus on delivering education today for tomorrow’s workplace.

Guidance

• The level of careers guidance given to young people is inadequate, with what little there is focused on an outdated and static idea of a jobs market.
• In the UK education system, learner choice is playing an increasingly important role, so it is vital that students have the information they need to succeed in a rapidly changing labour market.
• Stem skills will underpin many of the potential high-growth industries in the UK economy, but the misperceived importance of higher A-Level grades is turning students towards subjects they will do well in, rather than those that will be most valuable in the workplace.
• In the 21st century, education doesn’t end at school and businesses must play their part. The focus must be on in-work training and providing a career lattice, rather than a career ladder, where employees can develop by doing a range of different roles, gaining experience, developing new skills, and tapping into alternative networks.
• Government must play its part too, bringing together industry- wide collaboration between businesses and employers, ensuring every school has a suitably qualified, dedicated full-time careers coach whose job is to provide independent careers education and guidance and to coordinate employer engagement for students.
• Multiple, high-quality work experiences should become compulsory for all students from the age of 13 onwards so that young people can learn from employers and be better informed and equipped to make the right choices to help achieve their future career aspirations.

Provision

• Automation and digital technology offer new routes for the provision of education via computer-based outlets.
• Distance education is nothing new but recent innovations in ‘Massive Open Online Courses’ (Moocs) enable independent vocational learning more conveniently and cheaply than ever before.
• The cost savings, convenience, and flexibility that online learning offers has the potential to revolutionise education provision, but only if businesses and the education sector work together.
• In this self-guided environment, students and workers will become central in regulating their learning and determining the development of their own skills, meaning that one of the core functions of 21st-century schools will be teaching students how to learn for themselves.
• In a world of online media, which can become an echo chamber of one’s existing opinions and interests, digital skills will need to be complemented by the development of critical analysis, evaluation skills and self-regulation.
• This will be vital as global credit transfer systems develop that will allow student consumers to use courses offered by one institution (both online and in-house) to count towards their qualification from another, and
  to build up gradually to a degree at different times rather than completing it all in one go.
• Rather than thinking of progress as a linear measure through the curriculum, the breadth of development will also be important.
• The government should use the new higher education Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) to incentivise education providers to expand their provision of computer-based and blended learning opportunities to enhance access to education, reduce the costs of provision, and capitalise on a growing demand for alternative learning opportunities.

Finance

• On-the-job training and e-learning offer part of the solution but finance is also key.
• Affordability and limited credit options are the biggest barriers to workers enrolling on part-time or further education.
• Lifelong learning has a key role to play in boosting productivity, contributing to economic growth and aiding social mobility. For these reasons, financial incentives to facilitate continuous engagement in education throughout a person’s life should be explored by government.
• The relevant government departments should work together to facilitate lifelong learning. The value of tax incentives can provide a worthwhile ‘nudge’ towards the enhanced uptake of lifelong learning opportunities.
• An enhanced tax deduction for employers would encourage them to invest in training their staff.
• The income tax system should therefore be flexed to encourage and enable individual learners to upskill throughout their working lives.

The fourth industrial revolution will bring significant challenges, but also huge opportunities. If the UK is to build a competitive economy for the 21st century, a shift to lifelong learning will be crucial to ensuring that UK workers have the skills they need to succeed in the new world of work.