Adult Learning in a Changing World: From Access to Adaptability
Why Lifelong Learning Is Essential in a Rapidly Changing World
Adult Learning as a Pillar of Human Development
Adult learning is more than education for those who missed opportunities in formal schooling. It is a critical pillar of human development and an increasingly important foundation for how individuals, organizations, and societies navigate change. The 2003 CONFINTEA Mid-Term Review captured this broader purpose by describing adult learning as a critical pillar of human development worldwide. Today, that idea deserves renewed attention. The adult learner is changing. So is the world in which adults learn.
From Standardization to Continuous Learning
The 1990s represented, in many ways, an era of educational standardization: formal schooling, structured curricula, standardized testing, graduation requirements, and relatively predictable transitions from education into employment. Since the turn of the century, however, learning has increasingly moved into a digitally connected and globally networked environment.
Adults now learn across multiple spaces: universities, workplaces, professional networks, online courses, social media platforms, podcasts, digital communities, and increasingly, artificial intelligence. This transformation has expanded the meaning of adult learning. Technical knowledge remains important, but it now intersects with communication, adaptability, critical thinking, digital literacy, collaboration, cultural competence, and the ability to continually learn and relearn.
The shift is not simply from "traditional" to "digital" education. It represents a transition from education as a stage of life to learning as a way of life. Research on lifelong learning has long emphasized that learning occurs across formal, nonformal, and informal contexts, while more recent scholarship highlights how digital technologies are reshaping adult education and lifelong learning (Milana et al., 2024).
Globalization Is Homogenizing Some of Our Questions
One of the most interesting consequences of globalization is that people living in vastly different parts of the world increasingly encounter similar questions.
Recently, I spoke with an Uber driver who described learning how the platform operates, navigating its technology, and generating income for his family as an experience of personal awakening. His experience reminded me of a similar conversation I once had with an Uber driver in Pakistan, where I am from.
I have witnessed the same pattern in education. A young graduate from Atlanta once asked me how she could leverage digital media to become a journalist. A young graduate from Pakistan asked me essentially the same question.
The geography was different. The resources were different. The underlying aspiration was remarkably similar.
This is one of globalization's paradoxes: our circumstances may remain unequal, but many of our questions are becoming increasingly shared. The challenge, therefore, is not simply access to education. It is access to the knowledge, technology, networks, and opportunities that allow people to participate meaningfully in a changing economy.
The Workforce Is Moving Faster Than Education
The world of work is experiencing a significant skills transition. Artificial intelligence, automation, data analytics, robotics, cybersecurity, and digital transformation are creating roles that were barely visible a generation ago.
My own experience working with BASF allowed me to witness this transformation firsthand. As technology advanced, organizations increasingly needed professionals who could combine technical expertise with interdisciplinary knowledge. Today, roles such as data scientists, artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists, robotics engineers, cybersecurity analysts, digital transformation specialists, and sustainability professionals are becoming increasingly central to organizational performance.
At the same time, the skills mismatch remains a persistent concern. McGowan and Andrews (2017) found that skills mismatch is associated with lower productivity, highlighting an important point: having skilled people is not enough if their capabilities are not aligned with the work they are actually performing.
This raises a difficult question for education and workforce development:
Are we preparing adults for the jobs that exist today—or for the work that is emerging tomorrow?
The Adult Learner Needs Relevance
Adult learners rarely approach education as a blank slate. They bring work experience, family responsibilities, financial pressures, cultural knowledge, and personal goals into the learning environment.
Consequently, relevance matters. Research on adult learner achievement identifies motivation and institutional barriers as important factors influencing persistence and success (Bellare et al., 2023). For adults, learning is often most meaningful when they can see a direct connection between what they are learning and what they want to accomplish.
This makes upskilling and reskilling more than corporate terminology. They are becoming central components of workforce development.
Organizations must create meaningful opportunities for employees to grow. Universities must strengthen connections between academic learning and emerging workforce needs. Policymakers must build frameworks that support lifelong learning. Individuals must also recognize that a degree, while valuable, is no longer the endpoint of professional development.
Lifelong learning is also central to leadership development. The 2025 Advancing Women in Leadership issue emphasizes leadership development across the lifespan. It highlights empathy, strategic thinking, and strategic foresight as mutually reinforcing leadership strengths—competencies that are increasingly important as leaders navigate complex and rapidly changing environments (Irby et al., 2025).
AI Is Changing the Meaning of Learning
Artificial intelligence adds another layer to this transformation. AI can expand access to information, provide personalized learning support, and help adults learn at the point of need. Recent research is beginning to explore AI's implications for adult education, including conversational agents and generative AI, while also raising important questions about ethics, human interaction, and the future role of educators (Milana et al., 2024).
Yet AI also presents a new divide.
Those with digital access, AI literacy, and the ability to critically evaluate information may benefit disproportionately. Those without these resources risk being left further behind.
Therefore, the goal should not simply be to teach adults how to use AI. It should be to help them understand how to think critically with AI without surrendering their own judgment to it.
Preparing for a Future We Cannot Predict
The adult learning agenda is also being shaped by forces beyond technology. Climate change, public health crises, geopolitical instability, migration, and economic disruption have demonstrated how quickly circumstances can change.
The traditional idea of career development—as a linear progression from education to employment to retirement—is increasingly inadequate. The future requires people who can adapt.
This means adult learning must move beyond preparing individuals for specific tasks. It must develop learning agility: the ability to acquire new knowledge, question assumptions, transfer skills across contexts, and respond constructively to uncertainty.
Perhaps the most important shift is this:
Adult learning is no longer about catching up. It is about staying capable of moving forward.
The responsibility is shared. Individuals must remain curious. Organizations must invest in their people. Universities must respond to emerging workforce realities. Governments must create policies that make lifelong learning accessible.
The future of work will not wait for education to catch up.
And neither should we.
References
Bellare, Y., Smith, A., Cochran, K., & Lopez, S. G. (2023). Motivations and barriers for adult learner achievement: Recommendations for institutions of higher education. Adult Learning, 34(1), 30–39.
https://doi.org/10.1177/10451595211059574
Irby, B. J., Abdelrahman, N., Ballenger, J., Rodriguez, S., Gallardo, C., Donop, J., Phillips, R., & Kashif-Ghayas, M. (Eds.). (2025). Advancing Women in Leadership, 44.
https://awl-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/awl/article/view/648
McGowan, M. A., & Andrews, D. (2017). Skills mismatch, productivity and policies: Evidence from the second wave of PIAAC (OECD Economics Department Working Papers No. 1403). OECD Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.1787/65dab7c6-en
Milana, M., Brand, U., Hodge, S., & Hoggan-Kloubert, T. (2024). Artificial intelligence (AI), conversational agents, and generative AI: Implications for adult education practice and research. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 43(1), 1–7.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2024.2310448
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2017). Getting skills right: Skills for jobs indicators. OECD Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264277878-en
UNESCO Institute for Education. (2003). CONFINTEA Mid-Term Review: Statement of the Mid-Term Review Conference. UNESCO.
