Work

Learning lessons from across the globe

Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement

February 28, 2024

The workplace is evolving and investing in skills and development is needed now more than ever

In an ageing UK, where over 1 million workers are aged over 65, people are living longer and many people may need to work for longer than previous generations. Gone are the days of a career for life and now many people will have several different careers, motivations and skills by the time they reach retirement.

The workplace is evolving and investing in skills and development is needed now more than ever to improve employment opportunities, remaining in good fulfilling work for longer and ultimately help people to save more for the future.

The UK’s approach to lifelong learning is currently fragmented and feels inaccessible to many people who do not know what is accessible to them or how to gauge how useful it may be to their lives and careers.

Research by the Learning and Work Institute (LWI) found 49% of UK residents over the age of 17 reported having engaged in learning in the past three years. But only 36% of those aged 55 to 64 had done so. Of those aged 65 to 74 this falls to 24%1. The lack of investment post-compulsory education is telling and with few options available to older workers.

Whilst investment in lifelong learning is important, there are also attitudinal and practical barriers to learning, these sometimes stem from ageism and stereotypes – sometimes` from employers who fail to see the benefits of investing in older workers against graduates and young professionals. There are also many adults who have a fear of learning that stems from negative experiences in school and have internalised ageism thinking that they are too old to learn. However if the opportunities that are available were more widely communicated and advertised then this could potentially combat some of the barriers in this space.

Given the current experience of lifelong learning in the UK we teamed up with the International Longevity Centre (ILC) to explore and learn from other countries across the globe about how lifelong learning could be prioritised and culturally embedded throughout government and wider society. We want to learn from these countries, to see how we can potentially apply these practices to the UK to benefit all who wish to and need to engage in lifelong learning.

Highlights from around the world

The Netherlands

The national government and many municipal governments offer Scholingsvouchers, or training vouchers.
A national Scholingsvoucher programme was implemented for unemployed adults aged over 50. They were offered vouchers to be spent on training that would actively improve their employment prospects.
Individuals were given up to €1,000 to partake in training activities, which were mainly supplied through private training partners.

The Scholingsvoucher system present a great example of local governments working with private training partners to provide quality training opportunities.

By directly investing in those unemployed, this provides opportunities to upskill and help those back into employment.

Singapore

Singapore has a dedicated government department – Skills Future which aims to promote a culture and holistic system of lifelong learning through the pursuit of skills mastery and strengthen the ecosystem of quality education and training
One of the latest programmes that SF supports is the ‘Mid-Career support’ package which has just announced the new SkillsFuture Level-Up programme
Under the Mid-Career Support Package, there are also employer incentives to hire transitioners – Skills Future pays 40% of the new employee’s salary for the first six months.2

With financial support, targeted interventions and a culture of continuous learning in Singapore – this makes learning and reskilling much more successful and accessible to all citizens.

Skills Future provides ample opportunities to those of all ages to pursue a substantive skills reboot and stay relevant in a changing economy.

Redefining lifelong learning: what can we learn from around the world?

Country	Key features of approach	Key roles	% of adults1 recently engaged2 in learning Higher = better (UK = 45)	Adult1 disengagement rate Lower = better (UK = 42)	OECD financial ranking3 1 = best (UK = 18)
Canada	Accessible learning opportunities A wider range of opportunities	Provincial government leads on lifelong learning under a broad national framework. Community organisations play a significant role in provision	47	39	6
Germany	Support to identify learning needs and opportunities Accessible learning opportunities	State governments play a significant role in arranging lifelong learning provision. Employers are also significant providers.	47	45	11
Japan	Culture of lifelong learning Accessible learning opportunities	Strong state oversight, but lower investment with individuals and companies funding most learning	37	57	1
Korea	Culture of lifelong learning Accessible learning opportunities	Lifelong learning councils in each city coordinate provision in their area, through accessible local centres.	37	44	2
Netherlands	A wider range of learning opportunities Accessible learning opportunities	State oversight, and public investment, but provision delivered across sectors	54	40	10
Singapore	Culture of lifelong learning Support to identify learning needs and opportunities Public investment in lifelong learning	Strong central government leadership through a single national agency, working in partnership with employers and others, who are incentivised to play a role.	48	Not available	Not available
Sweden	Culture of lifelong learning Public investment in lifelong learning	Significant state investment supports learning provision in collaboration across the state, employers and learning providers	56	35	16

Defined as aged from 25 to 64
Within the last 12 months
OECD assessment of national financial arrangements

Sources: Participation data: OECD, 2019. Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (database 2012, 2015, 2019). Funding ranking: OECD, 2019. Getting Skills Right: Future-Ready Adult Learning Systems. Disengagement rates: OECD, 2021. Skills Outlook: Learning for Life. Per country.

How could we apply this to the UK?

These initiatives come from each countries unique national context but may not be too far out of reach for the UK population if we are to enable a culture of lifelong learning.

Here’s how we can apply this to the UK:

Government to work with large employers to increase the take up of lifelong learning with staff that are looking to retire within the next 5 years.
Repurposing buildings as learning centres, providing localised, regional learning opportunities that fit around the local economy.
Age-friendly pledges to combat ageism in recruitment and to ensure that all hiring systems are diverse in age and ability.

Read the full findings from the project here.