CEDA today releases "Lifelong Learning", its new report on one of the biggest opportunities facing Australia over the next 30 years.
The report was launched this morning by the Victorian Education Minister, Lynne Kosky, at CEDA's Lifelong Learning conference in Melbourne. The conference features speakers including Manpower managing director Varina Nissen, Swinburne University's Professor Louise Rolland and ANZ Bank chief executive John McFarlane.
CEDA chief executive David Edwards says the report is Australia's first comprehensive study of public policy on lifelong learning. It contains contributions from nine acknowledged learning and public policy experts.
"Right now, most people think of formal learning as something that happens in the first two-and-a-half decades of your life," says Mr Edwards. "That's how it's been for the past 30 or 40 years. Most people have grown up not knowing anything else. Lifelong learning involve people in formal learning at different points throughout their lives."
"CEDA's Lifelong Learning report shows that if we can change the old mindset and encourage lifelong learning, we have a rich opportunity: to substantially raise economic performance, incomes and job satisfaction in the decades ahead.
"Just by preparing better for lifelong learning - by raising secondary school completion from 80 per cent to 90 per cent - we can add 1.1 per cent a year to GDP by 2040. Other changes to increase lifelong learning can boost Australia's economic performance still further."
But Mr Edwards says governments, educators, firms and individuals all need to change their approaches if they are to grasp this opportunity.
The need for lifelong learning is becoming increasingly urgent as Australia confronts the twin challenges of an ageing workforce and an increasingly skills-hungry job market, says Mr Edwards.
"A number of leaders across business, government and academia have been urging us to investigate what these twin challenges mean for Australia.
"Our answer is that work in Australia is starting to undergo a dramatic change - but our institutions aren't yet ready to respond."
"Our over-45s are going to make up a much greater proportion of the workforce over the next 30 years. Do we think this over-45s group has all the skills and knowledge they'll need to be productive over the next 30 years? Do we think our institutions and systems are geared to give them the learning they want?
"We say 'no' to both questions."
The report’s overview, starting on page 2, summarises the authors' arguments. Individual authors examine the issues in greater detail in chapters 1 to 7. Chapter 10 reviews the disappointing progress made with these issues in the European Union, where they are even more pressing. (A special section, comprising Chapters 8 and 9, examines financial literacy.)
The report is Number 56 in CEDA's Growth series of expert reports on key long-term national development issues. Over more than four decades, the Growth series has put the spotlight on subjects ranging from industrial development to immigration to infrastructure.
CEDA Growth 56: Lifelong Learning is sponsored by Manpower Services Australia and New Zealand Pty Ltd, ANZ Banking Group Limited, The Securities Institute of Australia, Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) and TAFE NSW.
The report is published by CEDA, but the views in it are those of the authors. While views expressed in this release and the policy statement are attributable to CEDA, views expressed in the report itself are not.
The CEDA policy statement attached to this release sets out CEDA's current beliefs on lifelong learning, based primarily on the "Lifelong Learning" report. Statements in it are attributable to CEDA.
For further information please contact:
John Harris
Corporate Relations Director
Phone 03 9652 8415
Email info@ceda.com.au
Printed from the CEDA Web site at http://ceda.com.au. Copyright 1999-2009 CEDA