Why lifelong learning is important

Some of us naturally engage in lifelong learning because we want to. Trends in artificial intelligence, automation, and offshoring will continue to drive constant changes in the way that work is done. And successful navigation of the ever-changing world of work demands lifelong learning, ongoing skills development, and the mastery of new technologies.

Certainly, LLL provides opportunities to enhance or expand your skill sets. There are many benefits that result from it, such as:. Well, you are; you do it a lot already. For example, think back to last year or last month, for that matter. Did you learn to use a new software program or video conferencing platform designed to improve productivity at work? After navigating the learning curve, using that software became second-nature to you, right? So, while learning new things and stepping out of old routines may seem a bit daunting at first, continuous learning helps you gain confidence, increase self-esteem, and adapt more easily to changes.

No worries. Learn how by watching any of the thousands of YouTube videos on the topic and dinner is served! Latest Articles Further Education. What is Lifelong Learning and Why is it important?

What is lifelong learning? Why is lifelong learning important? For Employers Adult skills and a serious commitment to lifelong learning are now being viewed as vital to the meet the skills and workforce needs of the future. For Individuals For individuals lifelong learning will become increasingly important to ensure competitiveness and the development of employability in the long term. For the Further Education and Skills Sector For the skills sector and further education sectors, this raises major questions around how it will develop and meet this demand in the future.

Related Articles. What is the Kickstart Scheme? Subscribe to our blog Get exclusive offers, insights and learning resources direct to your inbox. Sometimes lifelong learning is used to describe a type of behavior that employers are seeking within the organization. Employers are recognizing that formal education credentials are not the only way to recognize and develop talent and that lifelong learning may be the desired trait.

The idea is that employees should engage in constant personal learning in order to be adaptable and flexible for the organization to stay competitive and relevant. This type of personal learning is often referred to as continuous learning. You can read more about continuous learning and what it means for both the employee and employer here. According to some researchers, however, there is criticism that organizations are leveraging the concept of lifelong learning in order to place the responsibility of learning on employees instead of offering the resources, support and training needed to foster this kind of workforce.

Most people will learn something new at some point in their daily routine just by talking with other people, browsing the internet based on personal interest, reading the newspaper, or engaging in personal interest. However, if making more effort to learn something new is important for either personal, family, or career reasons, or there is a need for a more organized structure, then here are some steps to get started. Lifelong learning is about you, not other people and what they want.

If progressing your career is your personal interest, then there are ways to participate in self-directed learning to accomplish this goal. If learning history is your passion, there are likewise ways to explore this interest further. Returning to our example of someone having a passion for history, perhaps it is desired to simply expand knowledge on the history of Europe. Or perhaps the interest is so strong that going for a Ph.

Researching and reading about the interest and goal can help to formulate how to go about learning it. With our history example: the person who wants to simply learn more about a particular historical time period could discover books in the library catalog, blogs, magazines and podcasts dedicated to the subject, or even museums and talks. The individual who wanted to achieve A Ph.

Fitting a new learning goal into your busy life takes consideration and effort. Plan out how the requirements of the new learning initiative can fit into your life or what you need to do to make it fit. For example, if learning a new language is the learning goal, can you make time for one hour a day?