What is Lifelong learning?
Lifelong learning is the process of continuously and intentionally developing skills and knowledge to remain relevant in a changing professional environment. It involves not only acquiring new information but also applying it to improve performance, adapt to change, and generate value and professional satisfaction.
The lifelong learning concept has various definitions across disciplines. Many authors consider this concept a long-term or lifetime solution to our lacking society. Educators and scholars use terms such as lifelong learning, permanent learning, continuous learning, and ongoing education interchangeably.
Lifelong learning or constant learning is a broad concept bringing together both formal and informal learning. It has inspired educators to create lifelong learning models and frameworks to attain socio-political visions of socially sustainable development.
In the current socio-economic and technological landscape, lifelong learning is becoming a necessity rather than an aspiration or personal preference. The digitalisation and AGI are transforming business models, and the stability once related to professional expertise is diminishing. Competencies and roles evolve more rapidly, and career paths are increasingly fluctuating. Beyond that, lifelong learning is more about maintaining professional relevance through ongoing skills updating.
Lifelong learning as a strategic mindset
Lifelong learning is a primordial characteristic shared by all living organisms on Earth. Also, learning is a lifelong process with intrinsic value for our personal and professional growth journey. Adaptation is a critical survival requirement for living organisms, and lifelong learning is part of this function, biologically and socially.
Constantly learning new things with ease can be a long-term strategic approach. That is why learning how to learn is a skill that can secure our professional future and create a proactive attitude towards life. Recent market shifts suggest a decline in certain tech roles, while demand for AI-related positions has emerged. AI competencies like deep learning, artificial neural networks, machine learning, and computer vision are trending globally.
AI systems automate predictable tasks, and focus shifts toward areas that require people’s interpretation and contextual awareness. This includes navigating complex situations, making decisions with incomplete information and conforming to moral principles.
Also, in an organisational context, jobs are at risk of becoming automated in the near future. So, most professionals need to know how to align technology, objectives, and people factors. This shift forces people to continuously update not only their technical stack, but also their interpersonal abilities, such as critical thinking and empathy.
A lifelong learning mindset facilitates change
Lifelong learning is also a research concept in the AI field for creating advanced AI that can mimic us. AI researchers rely on neural networks in their work and are inspired by human behaviours to make AI systems learn. Also, they are trying to make computer neurons more complex so they’re more like neurons in living organisms.
A continuous learning mindset can facilitate innovation and help people adapt to changes more easily. Constantly learning about trends and immersing in professional expertise offers valuable exposure to practical knowledge. Different learning methods can help: books, studies, articles, courses, MOOCS, conferences, seminars, training programs, and workshops. Taking ownership of learning journeys makes professionals better equipped to navigate the uncertainty and complexity of the job market.
Lifelong learning, adaptation to changes and employability
In his book “The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation,” Peter Senge considers learning organisations as a way for us to free our aspirations and continually see the whole, where “new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together”.
Just like any other living organism that adapts to environmental changes, we need to learn new things to evolve. This can deepen our understanding and enhance our skill sets to face our challenging circumstances. Constant learning can be a useful mindset that helps us remain relevant.
Research shows that lifelong learning can bring significant advantages in both employability and hiring prospects. Data shows that under social and economic pressures, lifelong learning has a protective effect on people, helping them to choose better career pathways in the labour market.
Soft skills might overtake hard skills
Developing a lifelong learning mindset and our skill sets are now a necessity, mainly due to automation and AI. However, even more important than the tech changes is the fact that certain skills have a lifespan. The 2021 Wiley report, Reimagining the Workforce, shows that 51% of employers agree that the average tech skill set has a lifespan of 2 years or less.
A common quality of people able to understand the necessity for continuous learning is also agility. Agility is our ability to provide resilient and timely answers to changing circumstances while maintaining a flexible attitude. Both concepts, continuous learning and agility, involve permanent acquisition of knowledge and skills.
So, lifelong learners are also agile, as the skills and knowledge they acquire enable them to handle unpredictable challenges and capitalise on future opportunities. Lifelong learning and agility play have important roles in the organisational context, contributing to constant adaptability and personal growth.
According to an OECD study, AI has a range of applications that can only be maximised through our creativity and imagination. Scientists argue that by 2030, demand for skills will change, and creativity will play a major role in tech innovation. Imagination and creativity are the realm of humans, not of machines. So, ironically, to adapt to new technology trends, we’ll need to develop even more creativity skills and become more imaginative than AI.
Communication, empathy and personal integrity
Also, by 2030, social and emotional skills and personality traits, such as empathy, efficient communication and respect for others, will be essential for professional development. For early career starters, employability comes not only from having the necessary hard skills but also from soft skills. An executive’s perception research about the most important soft skills showed that integrity and communication were the two skills and personal traits that ranked highest.
Soft skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, decision-making, and efficient communication are gaining importance in the context of AI development. These skills are hard to quantify in actions or behaviours, which makes them difficult to learn or master. It requires personal effort and time to develop through life experiences or on the job.
Empathy is a desirable skill for employers
Lately, empathy has become a popular and desirable skill for employers. Job descriptions that require empathy in roles involving leadership or customer care. But, as always, there are confusing and conflicting views on empathy. Some researchers argue that empathy is a rare talent or personality trait, while others say it’s a skill and can be learned.
A study about empathy shows that only 10% of our empathy is genetic, and up to 90% comes from our upbringing and environment. These findings underline that neurobiological research changed the perception of empathy from a soft skill to a neurobiologically based competency. So, while people’s predispositions may vary, empathy can be developed through experience and feedback.
Most soft skills can be improved or polished through coaching, training, or mentoring. Jobs that require social and emotional skills like creativity, empathy and social interactions are unlikely to be replaced by AI. Lifelong learning is a powerful mindset we can develop and adopt, even if we can’t always succeed in all our endeavours, precisely because we are only humans. Constantly learning is a lifelong pathway helping us reach our professional and personal goals.
A lifelong learning mindset needs a clear strategy, continuous implementation and commitment to create value for future market demands. Lifelong learning should be a proactive response to changes, an ongoing process of capabilities building that supports people’s professional relevance.
