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Report highlights

People over the age of 45 will make up a much greater proportion of Australia’s workforce in the next 30 years. At this stage, they do not have the skills and knowledge they need to continue being productive, and institutions and systems are not yet geared to give them the learning they need and want.

Economic and social benefits will flow from building a lifelong learning culture within Australia’s workplaces and education institutions. Preparing Australians better for lifelong learning –such as raising secondary school completion from 80 per cent to 90 per cent – can add 1.1 per cent a year to GDP by 2040.

By encouraging lifelong learning, Australia has an opportunity to raise economic performance, incomes and job satisfaction in the decades ahead. Governments, educators, firms and individuals all need to change their approaches if we are to grasp this opportunity.

About the report

The report was launched by the Victorian Education Minister, Lynne Kosky, at CEDA's Lifelong Learning conference in Melbourne. Conference speakers included Manpower managing director Varina Nissen, Swinburne University's Professor Louise Rolland and ANZ Bank CEO John McFarlane.

CEDA's partners on the lifelong learning project were ACER, ANTA, ANZ, Dusseldorp Skills Forum, Manpower Australia and New Zealand, Peter Noonan Consulting, RMIT University, the Securities Institute of Australia, Swinburne University, the University of Sydney and Cambridge University.