Research

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Research

Publication title: New directions in Australia's skill formation: Lifelong learning is the key

The twentieth century has seen universal basic education (that is, compulsory schooling) become a reality in economically advanced countries. Education policies designed to eliminate illiteracy by making schooling available to all has been a key thrust in education policies across the whole world during the twentieth century.

The second half of the century has seen universal education and training being extended across the teenage years and into early adulthood. In many countries the focus has been on preparing young people for entry to the workforce, and on retaining young people in the formal education and training system for longer periods of time.

The unparalleled changes that have occurred in recent years mean that a continuing focus on the preparation of young people for entry to the workforce as the keystone of post-compulsory education and training will no longer be sufficient. There are two reasons for this. They are:

First, on the demand side, technological change and other changes stemming from globalisation of economies around the world are now having a profound impact on the nature of work, the way it is organised and the skills it requires. These changes are now so rapid that people cannot expect to be working in the same areas even for a part of their working lifetimes. Many specific skills now have a very short 'half life'.
Second, on the supply side, the workforces of most countries, including that of Australia, are ageing. There will be relatively fewer young people entering the workforce than in the past. Skill formation policies will therefore need to be more heavily focussed on the adult workforce than in the past, and include reskilling older workers. Continuous learning is required.

If Australia is to maximise its economic potential, policies to further promote lifelong learning are the key direction for the future. The onset of the information age and the knowledge-based economy requires countries to become learning societies. The education of the population and the skilling of the workforce are the factors which are going to determine a nation's fortunes in the twenty-first century much more than they have in the twentieth century. The skills base of a nation, and the speed with which skilling can adjust to meet new requirements will be as important, if not more important, in determining economic success than a nation's natural resources and financial capital base. These changes will not be achieved without further significant reform to our education and training systems.

This is not to say that Australia has not already made substantial progress. Some 1.5 million people (or some 12 % of the 15–64-year-old population) enrol in a publicly funded vocational education and training program each year. A further 670 000 people are enrolled in higher education (that is, 5.4 % of the population aged 15–64 years). Some 80 per cent of wage and salary earners report having undertaken some kind of employer-provided training. A total of around 77 per cent of the 'economically active' population aged 15–64 years, undertook some kind of education or training during 1997 in Australia.

Impressive as this looks, much of this education and training activity is unstructured, informal, spasmodic and minor. A more comprehensive system of lifelong learning in Australia is required. Future directions will need to focus on:

the development of new learning pathways for adults as well as young people so that lifelong learning for all can become a reality. This will require a substantial reform to the post-compulsory education and training system to ensure a wider range of appropriate learning options are available
an increased national investment in skills and knowledge. Even though successive governments in Australia have ensured that we have a comparatively sound level of national investment in education and training, it is difficult to see how we can become a world leading skills nation, as we must, without raising national investment further, not just public sources, but from private sources also.