Lifelonglearners or learners for Life ?

I recentlygave a talk to a classroom of year 9 students in Perth. The theme was aroundunderstanding personal finance as a steppingstone to having their financialindependence. As part of the questions, I commented on the fact that I am alifelong learner, and always seeking to learn from others. More importantly, Ibelieve that in general terms, university (or any post school study) teaches ushow to think. It does not always teach specific deliverable skills.  These are learnt over time as our careersdevelop, but study has given us the knowledge of not necessarily what theanswers are, but the tools to find the answers.

The mainpoint of my comment was that these children need to be open to learning andadapting far more than any previous generation.

Thequestion is why lifelong learning is becoming a critical factor in the culturesof tomorrow and the future of work. There are some amazing statistics about howhigh the percentage is of children starting school today who will end up incareers that do not yet exist. With that in mind, companies need to build aculture of learning that allows team members to up skill. The idea of upskilling implies an upward progression in the traditional hierarchy, whereasthe term should probably or more aptly be called “new skilling” where teammembers learn new skills that equip them to do different jobs within theorganization. Jobs that perhaps did not exist when they started working there.

I wouldlike to believe that many people need challenge in their work lives, and this“new skilling” might fulfill that need.

Theproblem for team members and organizations alike is that “you don’t know whatyou don’t know” and how do organizations create this life learning when evenfor them it becomes a moving target.

Herein isthe challenge and the opportunity. Organizations that create a culture oflifelong learning, a culture of creating a space for team members to grow anddevelop will be part of a rich and robust culture for the future. They will becreating the future of work being driven by a future of culture.

Theseorganizations will create a space where team members can immerse themselves inthe learning of new skills and new ideas to embrace the future which is sure tobe disrupted.

Theseorganizations will embed the idea of learning into their values that can beembraced by every person.

Theseorganizations will rise to the challenges of disruption at speeds never seenbefore.

Theseorganizations are the future of culture and the future of work.