The importance of lifelong learning

Many years ago I worked for a small company where everyone had an annual £1,000 training budget. You could spend it on what you liked – one person learned how to drive a tank, another learned pole dancing – but you had to spend it. The intention was to promote a culture of learning. (There was a separate budget for professional skills development.)

Lifelong learning is the process of acquiring knowledge and skills throughout one’s life. It is not just about attending formal training programs or earning degrees: it is about developing a mindset of continuous learning and improvement. It is, I believe, an essential life skill for anyone who wishes to remain mentally agile in their middle and later years.

Lifelong learning is an indispensable part of professional development. It enables people to build the skills they need to succeed in their careers and to stay up to date with the latest trends and technologies in their field and industry. With the accelerating use of digital technologies such as automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, the skills required for jobs are changing rapidly. And rapid technological change is further increasing the importance of lifelong learning in the workplace.

But lifelong learning is not only important for individuals. It is also an essential part of any business strategy, especially in a time of skills shortages. Many organisations are concerned about a shortage of key skills (not just digital skills). This lack of skills is a major contributor to the stalling of productivity in the UK: reskilling can bring a productivity uplift of up to 12 per cent. Unfortunately virtually every UK worker needs reskilling: about 30.5 million UK workers (94 per cent of today’s workforce) lack the full suite of skills they will require in 2030 to perform their jobs well.

Benefits of lifelong learning

Any employee must keep up with the latest trends and developments in their respective fields if they hope to succeed – to stay abreast of changes to regulations, accepted best practice, new techniques. But that won’t be enough. With rapid advances in technology, especially AI, it is more important than ever for employees to learn new things if they want to stay relevant and competitive, able to adapt to new technologies.

The world of work is changing at an unprecedented pace, and skills that were once in high demand are becoming obsolete. Some business leaders believe that because of AI around half the skills that today’s workers use won’t be relevant in as little as two years. And that includes many of the cherished skills of professionals such as lawyers, architects and accountants. This is where lifelong learning comes in. People must be prepared to learn new skills.

Some skills may be technical – a new programming language perhaps (the learner must accept that in a few years they will need to learn yet another one), or a new digital tool (they must accept that soon that tool will no longer be needed). But for many, the key skills to learn are the soft skills of communication, teamwork, problem-solving and leadership. These are skills that are unlikely to be made obsolete by technology. And they are skills that are increasingly expected by employers, alongside technical competencies. (Sadly they are skills that are little taught in schools and universities.)

Lifelong learning can keep you in a job. But it has other benefits too. It helps employees become more adaptable and resilient, able to respond to new situations and challenges quickly. By developing a continuous learning attitude, employees can become more flexible, better able to question assumptions, better equipped to handle change.

Lifelong learning also helps you become more innovative and creative. By exposing themselves to new ideas and perspectives, employees can develop new ways of seeing the world. This leads to the development of new products and processes that can help organisations stay ahead of the competition.

Why is it so difficult?

Unfortunately many people recoil from the idea of continuous learning: there are many barriers that prevent them from enthusiastically embracing the development of new skills.

People who are currently stressed at work may feel that they are too busy with their current workload to take on additional learning opportunities. Some people may simply have a fear of being able to learn new skills, thinking themselves too old perhaps. And for some there will be a reluctance to learn skills that they feel are “inappropriate” for the way they view themselves: a manual worker or experienced professional may not want to learn keyboard skills for example. For these people, the way forward is an approach that gently encourages them, proves the benefits they will experience, and provides tailored skill development in a culturally supportive environment.

Others may be harder to manage. Some may not see the value in keeping their skills up to date, especially if they have been in the same job for a long time. And some may feel that they are already knowledgeable enough and do not need to learn anything new. It may be that these people will only respond to a harsher lesson.

Delivering a learning organisation

But let’s assume that we want to bring everyone with us on a journey towards continuous learning, even those who feel themselves above learning new skills. What are the best strategies for promoting lifelong learning in the workplace?

Start by planning for a new approach to skills development. Identify your objectives for continuous learning as precisely as possible: for example, are there specific new skills that need developing, are there key people who seem to be unwilling to learn new skills, are there any obstacles such as a blame culture that need to be resolved? What resources will be needed and how will they be found? How will you measure progress and success? And how will emerging skill requirements be identified and addressed?

Then communicate the benefits of lifelong learning widely, so that you have a workforce receptive to the idea of change. Some benefits are very simple: having a pay cheque at the end of the month for example, or an increased chance of being promoted. But there are other powerful benefits. Learning opportunities provide an opportunity to escape dull and routine tasks and instead focus on more creative tasks (only a few people prefer mindless routine). And a culture of learning where employees are encouraged to share their knowledge will foster a sense of community and collaboration that most employees will strongly welcome.

Next start to take action by implementing a plan to create an organisation that demonstrates how much it values learning. New skills learned should be acknowledged (this doesn’t have to mean a pay rise whenever anyone completes a training module). Time should be taken to provide at least some personalised learning opportunities, so that people feel they are being treated as individuals and are not wasting their time on unnecessary education. Giving people choice about the new skills they develop will result in greater engagement. Encouraging employees to share their skills with one another will not only be an efficient way of spreading knowledge, but it will be motivating for anyone who sees a colleague benefiting from their expertise.

The role of organisational leaders should not be forgotten. Lifelong learning is unlikely to thrive without their support. They can facilitate any required approaches, such as personalised learning, by encouraging managers to provide sufficient time and resources and by requiring appropriate reporting of results. Leaders can also set an example by demonstrating their own commitment to continuous skills development. And because most leaders are highly credible communicators, they can help to persuade the workforce of the importance of lifelong learning.

The future of lifelong learning:

Lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important in the workplace and is often viewed as a vital component of meeting the workforce needs of the future. It is not a new concept. But there is a new need, driven by the rise of AI. Learning must focus on the things that humans do better than machines: soft skills such as emotional intelligence, adaptability and resilience, but also technical ones, such as the ability to question the validity of an AI’s outputs.

Many of the tasks that workers, knowledge workers in particular, undertake today will not be needed in a few years. Success in the future of work requires becoming a lifelong learner, developing new technical and soft skills continuously, as an essential and valued part of work every day.

Learning how to drive a tank or pole dance may not be of much use to most organisations. But the hunger to learn a new skill, and practising the ability to take in and act on new knowledge, most certainly will be.