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Redefining lifelong learning webinar presentation slides.pptx
- 1. Redefining lifelong learning: Lessons from across the globe Webinar Wednesday 28 February 2024 What happens next Join the conversation: @ilcuk
- 2. Welcome Isabelle Gillespie, Head of Programmes, ILC-UK What happens next @ilcuk
- 3. Our findings Anna van Renen, Research and Policy Officer, ILC-UK What happens next @ilcuk
- 4. We’re living longer, which means we’re also working for longer • 1 in 7 people over 65 are still in work • The UK places 47 out of 121 countries for workspan in our Healthy Ageing and Prevention Index • And we can see skills shortages rising • Lifelong learning is a great way to improve employment opportunities
- 5. But in the UK, older adults aren’t engaging in learning
- 6. We spoke to experts to understand what more we can do • 14 experts in learning, working and ageing informed our research • These insights identified global leaders in lifelong learning
- 7. We found that… • There’s no one way to encourage lifelong learning • We can draw inspiration from countries around the world to encourage lifelong learning • There’s progress being made at a micro level • But there are still challenges with lifelong learning at present, and a lot the UK can improve upon nationally
- 8. Around the world, there are key themes that emerge • Cultures of lifelong learning • Cross-sector collaboration to support a range of learning opportunities • Support to identify current skills and learning needs • Increased public investment • Accessible learning opportunities
- 9. Cultures of learning are instilled from childhood • Whole-child development approaches to education can instil expectations for lifelong learning • In Japan: • Integrated studies and teaching characterises Japan’s childhood education • As people age, learning provision widens
- 10. Cross-sector collaboration facilitates more learning opportunities • Offering flexible learning, formal and informal options and collaborating across sectors will open learning opportunities • In the Netherlands: • Collaboration between government and private sector is integral to the country’s policy • The Sectorplannen is a clear example of this
- 11. When people are supported, learning is more effective • Identifying skills gaps and navigating learning opportunities is the first step to engaging in learning • In Germany: • Recognition of prior learning is widespread • Initiatives to encourage and monitor lifelong learning are easily accessible • Government-accredited courses are offered around the country
- 12. Money makes a difference • Lowering the cost for individuals is key to ensuring accessible education for adults • In Singapore and Sweden: • Education is free • Other financial barriers to learning are mitigated
- 13. Every person should have an equal opportunity to learn • Work, caring responsibilities, finances, and mobility challenges can all impact accessing learning • In South Korea: • There are 160 ‘lifelong learning cities’ in the country • The government sponsors MOOCs and self-study programmes
- 14. Smaller examples of these same themes are emerging • Cultures of lifelong learning are being changed • The range of learning opportunities are being increased • Support is being offered to identify learning opportunities • State support for learning is widening • Learning and work are being more linked
- 15. Initiatives are in place that help shift cultures of learning • We’re starting to see programmes that: • Challenge ageism • Set expectations around learning • Support inclusion • At the Isle of Wight Council: • Nearly half of employees are 50 or over • Apprenticeships are encouraged for all ages
- 16. Offering more ways to learn improves participation • Increased learning opportunities are emerging in the form of: • Community-led learning • Online learning • Learning by doing • Learning through fun • At Deloitte: • Gamification improves learning participation
- 17. Support is being offered for people to identify learning opportunities • Support for learners comes in the form of: • Community-integrated learning • Counselling and supervision • AI-supported learning • Optimising learning through AI is becoming more popular
- 18. State support for learning is widening • Free or subsidised learning helps adults overcome cost barriers • In Wales: • Personal learning accounts offer free training courses and professional qualifications • Training aims to fill skills gaps
- 19. Links between learning and work are strengthening • We’re seeing an increase in: • Support for older career switchers • Partnerships for employee education • A shift in employer attitudes • In South Africa: • Partnerships with universities and trade unions encourage upskilling
- 20. There’s more to be done in the UK • Individuals are investing more than both government and employers • There are disparities in learning participation • Current offerings are limited • The Lifelong Loan Entitlement is narrow • The apprenticeship levy has not yielded results
- 21. And we’ve highlighted four key areas for action • Shift the culture around learning • Increase the diversity of learning options • Help individuals identify skills gaps and learning opportunities • Increase investment in learning
- 22. To achieve this, we need to… • Bring together policies • Support cross-sector efforts • Offer free and trusted advice through new and updated existing services • Reduce cost barriers
- 23. Shani Wilson Policy and Research Manager, Phoenix Insights What happens next @ilcuk
- 24. Chris Butcher Senior Policy Manager, WEA What happens next @ilcuk
- 25. Caroline Waters OBE Age Irrelevance Ambassador What happens next @ilcuk
- 26. Marie-Louise Kok Digital Learning Expert, Leyden Academy on Vitality and Ageing What happens next @ilcuk
- 27. Jun Saito Senior Research Fellow, Japan Centre for Economic Research What happens next @ilcuk
- 28. Andrew Aitken Economist, OECD What happens next @ilcuk
- 29. Lifelong learning for mid- career and older workers Andrew Aitken Economist, Skills and Employability Division Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD Launch of ILC report “Redefining lifelong learning: Lessons from across the globe’’ 28th February 2024
- 30. Employment rates remain low for low-skilled workers 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 % % Low skilled Middle skilled High skilled Employment rates by skill level for persons aged 55-64, 2022 Note: The OECD is an unweighted average and excludes Japan for which data are not available. Data for Chile refer to 2020. Source: OECD dataset: Educational attainment and labour-force status.
- 31. Share of adults who participated in formal or non-formal job-related training over the previous 12 months OECD (2023), Retaining Talent at All Ages, Ageing and Employment Policies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/00dbdd06-en. Older workers are less likely to participate in training 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 % % 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 65
- 32. Workers face many barriers to participating in training 29% 15% 15% 12% 7% 4% 3% 14% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% Shortage of time - work related Lack of financial resources Shortage of time - family related Inconvenient time and place Lack of employer's support Unexpected events Lack of prequisites Other Note: Average of OECD countries participating in PIAAC. Source: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (2012, 2015 and 2018)
- 33. Built to Shift (BNP Paribas Portugal) Purpose • Update skills of experienced workers (+15y working experience and +4 years at BNP Paribas) Policy • An 8-week development programme designed to elevate employees to a common platform of knowledge, tools and skills Key lessons • Approaching challenges with a prototyping mindset • Building a participant centric programme • Leveraging an external perspective to challenge the status quo
- 34. Senior Talent Program (Schneider Electric) Purpose • Strengthen skills and provide robust career advice for employees in the later stages of their careers Policy • Global toolbox includes: • Career conversations • Knowledge transfer • Career Pivots • New contractual opportunities Key lessons • It can be difficult to know where to start – but CC’s are a good place to start • Effective communication/positive narrative • Cultural sensitivity • Diversity among ‘older’ employees
- 35. Career Transition Assistance (Australia) Purpose • Provide tailored support for 45+ to identify transferable skills and experiences with a focus on improving digital literacy Policy • Digital literacy training • Career pathway assessment & plan • Job interview training • Help with exploring local job opportunities Key lessons • Key benefit is to build confidence and to motivate mature workers • Group setting of training valued – strengthens engagement • Tailored approach
- 36. Thank you Andrew Aitken andrew.aitken@oecd.org Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs http://www.oecd.org/employment/ageingandemploymentpolicies.htm 36
- 37. Questions & discussion What happens next @ilcuk
Editor's Notes
- Thanks Issy and thank you everyone who’s joined today. As issy said, my name is anna and I’ve been leading on this research so I’m really excited to be able to share with everyone today.
- We know that we’re living longer, which does mean for many people they’ll also be working for longer. 1 in 7 people over 65 are still employed in the UK. But at the same time, we’re seeing challenges with our work span and skills utilisation. According to our healthy ageing and prevention index, the UK’s work span is only 31.5 years. In comparison, the highest ranking work span, Cambodia, sits at 43.7 years. Skills shortages driven by demographic change are hitting all sectors of the UK’s economy. Our previous Work for Tomorrow research indicates that by 2030, we could see a shortage of 2.6 million workers. So we know that employment rates and work span need to improve, and one way to encourage this is through lifelong learning. When adults continue to learn and upskill, there are key benefits to individuals and society as a whole: It improves their employment opportunities, and aculture of learning is linked to stronger, more competitive, and more innovative economies.
- But aspirations in the UK to improve learning and upskilling for adults have not resulted in as much change as we’d hope. As we can see here, as people age they engage in learning far less. So what we’ve set out to do is identify best practices in adult learning and engagement around the world, and look at what the UK can learn from this.
- We spoke with 14 experts in areas like research, academia, policy influencing, and large and smaller-scale education providers. Through these consultations and with desk research, we identified some leaders in lifelong learning around the world.
- Our key findings show that there’s no silver bullet that solve issues around learning participation. While we’ve identified some leaders in lifelong learning, their approaches are each quite different from each other and no one are necessarily better than another. But what we can do is draw inspiration from some key features of international approaches. We’ve also found that in smaller contexts in the UK, abroad, and in industry specific cases there are green shots of good practice in learning. But in general, there are challenges in the UK, and there’s more to be done and more to learn from others.
- As I said, there is no one magic fix to improve learning participation, retraining and upskilling. What must also be remembered is there’s a lack of evaluation on lifelong learning around the world, so even in countries that are perceived as leaders in learning, programmes are still significantly under-evaluated. However, we can see some key themes that emerge from different countries that are often highlighted as leaders in lifelong learning.
- A more holistic approach to primary and secondary education helps to instil learning confidence and skill. The expectation to continuously learn then extends through the lifecourse. In Japan, independent cross-topic research projects are carried out in schools from an early age, and integrated teaching brings children of different ages together. There’s a focus on social development as well as intellect. As people move across the lifecourse, they may continue to learn independently in community centres and public universities, with learning protected by national and local governments.
- Another theme emerging is varied opportunities for learning increases participation, including flexible and informal learning and cross-sectoral efforts, In the Netherlands, government partnership with private sector and academic institutions forms the cornerstone of adult education policies. The Sectorplannen is a collaborative effort between governments and universities to improve learning and research. By 2019, 150,00 mid-career and older workers had been retrained and upskilled through this programme.
- The next key feature is support – many leaders in lifelong learning provide individuals with effective support to identify skills gaps and navigate learning opportunities. In Germany, prior learning is widely recognised. Germany’s ProfilPass initiative also offers support – this document helps people to assess and document their skills to help them find work and training opportunities. The government also sponsors an online database called Kursfinder, which lists free and low-cost courses. Government sponsorship improves the trustworthiness of these courses.
- Public investment is also important to facilitate lifelong learning. In Sweden, education is free, even at a tertiary level. Barriers to learning are also mitigated – for example, parents that want to engage in continuous education may receive state support for childcare. In Singapore, training vouchers valued at 500 Singapore dollars are provided to every adult to facilitate learning. This is often carried out online to improve accessibility.
- The final common theme we’ve seen covers accessibility. Many countries work to make sure there’s equitable access to learning, no matter what personal barriers may be in place. In South Korea, there are 160 lifelong learning cities. This is where every adult has a learning centre or provider within a ten minute walk from their home. The government also sponsors free MOOCs in the Korean language, and has an autodidactic policy. People may teach themselves a subject, take a university level exam and then may be awarded a degree under the auspices of MoE.
- Whilst there are some cases of these themes being present across entire countries, we can also see similar themes emerging in smaller contexts in the UK and abroad.
- We can now see programmes that are helping to shift learning cultures by: Challenging ageism Setting expectations around learning Supporting inclusion At the Isle of Wight Council, ageism is being challenged. nearly half of employees are over 50. one in five of its apprentices are aged 50 and over – around the same figure as for those aged 16 to 24. There’s also age-friendly training and regular ‘lunch and learn’ opportunities.
- Learning opportunities are increasing through: Community-led learning Online learning Learning by doing And learning through fun Edutainment – entertainment and education – is a key example of more ways to learn. Audit firm Deloitte employs gamification to monitor training. As executives weren’t completing their assigned leadership training programmes, Deloitte introduced badges, teams and leaderboards to encourage completion. The average time taken by employees to complete training was halved.
- Examples of increased support includes community-integrated learning, counselling and supervision, and AI supported learning. Corporate training can be optimised through AI. We all have different levels of knowledge and different skill sets. Now, AI can help tailor and personalise individual employees’ trainings to make sure it’s as efficient and effective as possible.
- We’re seeing some inroads in more state supported learning. In Wales Personal Learning Accounts people to train free of charge, with courses and professional qualifications to develop skills and help them to progress or change their career. Training aims to fill skills shortages in local areas which increases the likelihood that individuals will get a job afterwards. Over 7000 people have been trained through these accounts.
- Finally, we’re seeing learning and work becoming more linked through: Support for older career switchers Partnerships for employee education And a shift in employer attitudes In South Africa, BP has a partnership with the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg where they’ll pay the tuition fees for any employees and their dependents who wish to study business or leadership programmes. Successful partnerships can also be found within trade unions in South Africa. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) helps the upskilling of mine workers, a large industry and employer.
- We know there’s more to be done. The UK Government’s investment in skills is set to be £1 billion less in 2025 than in 2010, while employer investment in training has fallen by 28% since 2005. This means individuals are forced to use their own resources to access learning, investing £7.3 billion a year and £55 billion-worth of time in their own learning: more than the Government and employers put together. There are disparities across age, gender, race, ethnicity and geographic location when it comes to learning participation. The LLE will create a single funding system to pay for college or university courses. It’s intended to help people train, retrain and upskill flexibly over their working live, but it’s limited to people under the age of 60 and people who haven’t already taken out a student loan. Other significant initiatives include the apprenticeship levy haven’t worked either
- Our international learning suggests four key areas for action. We should act to: Shift the culture around learning Increase the diversity of learning options Help individuals identify their skills gaps and the learning opportunities that work for them Increase investment in learning
- To do this, we should: Develop a culture of learning that starts from childhood by joining up adult and childhood learning policies – currently they’re formed separately, and we need a lifecourse approach We can increase the range of learning options by supporting cross-sector efforts to encourage innovation To help people find the type of learning that suits their needs: We need new services that can offer free and trusted advice and support to individuals to identify their skills gaps and to access quality learning opportunities. We could expanding the remit of adult career services and/or JobCentre Plus. Finally, Governments should continue to reduce cost barriers to lifelong learning, by ensuring more people have access to funding for adult learning. First steps should include widening eligibility for the Lifelong Learning Entitlement in England, and developing personalised learning accounts, building on the model established in Wales. There’s no one key fix, but there are some key steps we can take to accelerate the UK’s efforts to improve learning. Thank you!