A five-point plan for lifelong learning
'Reform is needed at every level: early childhood, schools and tertiary education, involving both vocational and higher education,' if we are to become a society that fosters lifelong learning, writes Peter Dawkins in a thought-provoking look at the future of education and training in Australia in the Australian Financial Review.
His blue sky thinking has been brought into sharp focus by COVID-19.
'With the pandemic intensifying the loss of unskilled jobs, a major vocational education reform agenda is needed to train Australia's human capital.
'Australia will need increasingly to rely on its human resources for its future wellbeing. Without a major reform agenda, that future is at risk.
'Routine systems in traditional manufacturing and services have been replaced by a more rapidly changing work environment, in which labour needs to be more adaptable and agile. This has been intensified by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment.
'Problem-solving skills are needed by the vast majority of people. This requires a universal lifelong learning system that develops and renews the employability capabilities of everyone, to support economic development and ensure social inclusion.'
He proposes universal access to education and training, which is a radical change for current provision.
'While we have long recognised the need for a universal school system, we also need a universal early childhood development system, and a universal tertiary education system that is more closely connected with the world of work.'