Lifelong learning - productivity, growth and competitiveness

In the changing working life the importance of lifelong learning is emphasized throughout the education system and professional career. Population development, globalization, new information and communication  technologies and changes in the structures of the economic life and the public sector have a strong impact on educational demands. Our education system is subject to huge challenges. What is needed is a new culture of learning, which is based on interaction, individual learning paths, acknowledgement of knowhow and learning in every day life, and at work. Teachers must also be willing to transform.

Adult education in its various forms has an importance in helping the two forces, demand and supply of workforce on the labour market, to meet. But lifelong learning is not only about adult training, but also about the willingness to develop through different situations of everyday life and work throughout one’s life. The foundation for lifelong learning is established already in basic education. How basic education succeeds in this task will affect the learner’s learning readiness later on.

Ever larger part of the maintenance and development of knowhow takes place at workplaces, alongside work. Training taking place at workplace, in genuine work environments and work situations, is a central part of learning, and the reinforcement and development of expertise. What is needed is closely knit cooperation between educational institutions and work community, where the expertise and innovativeness of both parties is being utilised.

The Council for Lifelong Learning, which has been instituted by the Finnish Government, is a cooperation body operating within the Ministry of Education. It deals with questions on the collaboration between education and working life and the prerequisites for life-long learning and the development of adult education politics. The council is supported by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Employment and the Economy, national labour market organisations and representatives of educational institutions, universities and students.

Director of Education and Training, Confederation of Finnish Industries EK