The way we work: Lifelong learning in the talent economy

“Being able to easily evidence learning with skills-based credentials is crucial”

Over the last few years, technological innovation has driven change at an unprecedented rate, resulting in the emergence of a talent economy:  ‘A collaborative, transparent, technology-enabled, rapid-cycle way of doing business […] where employers and employees seek each other out on a playing field that is broader and more level than ever before.’, according to Deloitte.

One of the biggest changes in this new world is the role of new technologies is making it easier for people to learn and work from anywhere in the world – challenging all our assumptions about what the workplace, and the education space, should look like.

One of the biggest changes in this new world is the role of new technologies is making it easier for people to learn and work from anywhere in the world – challenging all our assumptions about what the workplace, and the education space, should look like.

This is particularly stark in higher education – where FutureLearn focuses – with Pearson’s recent Global Learner Survey showing that almost half of those surveyed in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Europe don’t think that higher education prepared them for their career.

So if the way people work is changing – for everyone from the graduate to the traditional retiree – does how we learn also need to change?

Graduates work in industries unrelated to their degrees

One significant trend is that post-university, graduates typically go on to work in industries unrelated to their formal fields of study. While people in China, India, Brazil, and Hispanic America are more likely to go into an industry related to their degree, in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Europe, only a third of people choose careers related to their subject (Pearson Global Learner Survey).

So what does this mean for education? Well, given that the majority of students don’t go into university with a clear idea of what they want from a career, for those wishing to branch out whilst studying, online learning is a useful supplement. An online course can also demonstrate an interest and commitment to a particular industry – happily, FutureLearn research found that 71% of employers saw online learning as a ‘differentiating factor’ when considering candidates for an entry-level role.

The rise of the freelancer

Another key trend is an increase in freelance workers. According to the Global Talent Trends report from Mercer, 79% of executives expect that contingent and freelance workers will substantially replace full-time employees in the coming years, and 82% of employees now say that they would be willing to consider working on a freelance basis.

This figure is even higher in Mexico (94%), China (93%), Hong Kong (92%), and the Middle East (92%). Furthermore, 51% of employees (up from 39% in 2018), said they would be willing to take on an extra project within their company, outside of their usual job remit (a so-called ‘internal gig’) to gain experience.

“Another key trend is an increase in freelance workers”

This reflects a culture where building a personal portfolio is vital to career progression, a dynamic which has a major impact on how people approach job-related learning.

It is particularly important for freelance and contingent workers to stay up to date with best practices and technologies, as companies are not likely to invest time and resources into training them.

On top of this, in a system where employers can select talent from anywhere in the world by looking at online profiles, being able to easily evidence learning with skills-based credentials is crucial. It is this need – for consistency, quality, and portability – which has fuelled FutureLearn’s move towards offering microcredentials alongside its partners in the European MOOC consortium.

There’s no stopping job hopping

 Work patterns across a lifetime are also changing, and are markedly different from prior generations. 70% of people agree that the notion of working for one employer for your entire career is old-fashioned, and 84% of people believe that their career path will be significantly different from their parents or grandparents (Pearson Global Learner Survey, September 2019).

With job loyalty down, young people are much more likely to “job hop”; the Global Talent Trends report found that two in five employees were planning to leave their organization in the next 12 months. People are therefore constantly thinking about their next role, and ways to keep their CV up to date.

Because these people are often upskilling alongside full-time employment, face-to-face training or returning to campus is unrealistic. This means flexible online courses can often be the best option – on FutureLearn for example, one of the most common motivations for taking a course is career progression and in our Net Promoter Score (NPS) Survey, 21% of professional learners reported that they had progressed in their career as a result of a course they took on our platform.

“Digital upskilling has become incredibly important and the increasing availability of online courses…means anyone can easily top up their knowledge”

Is retiring redundant?

Finally, attitudes are changing around retirement. The Pearson Global Learner Survey reports that 65% of people think that the notion of traditional retirement is old-fashioned. Instead, many older workers are taking on part-time jobs, starting a business, or starting a second career.

With 75% of employees intending to keep working post-retirement age, it is important that older workers do not get neglected, especially as they are particularly vulnerable to the impact of digital disruption, being over-represented in jobs where at least 50% of the tasks can be automated (Global Talent Trends 2019, Mercer).

With this in mind, digital upskilling has become incredibly important and the increasing availability of online courses covering key digital skills, such as social media and cybersecurity, means anyone can easily top up their knowledge throughout their career.

Crucially, for people later in their working lives, the ability to stay up to date with new technologies can provide them with the confidence to take on a new challenge or role.

The lifelong learning solution

Bringing these implications together, it is evident that the new world of work requires a dramatic overhaul of how, and indeed when, we learn. According to the Person Global Learner Survey, 59% of people in the US (55% in the UK, and 60% in Australia) believe the world is shifting to a model where people participate in education over a lifetime

.The talent economy, new working trends and emerging digital skills gaps all contribute to the need for education to evolve to incorporate continuous, skills-based learning that starts in adolescence and spans throughout working life.

About the author: Kathryn Skelton is Chief Transformation Officer at FutureLearn, Europe’s leading online social learning platform.