Here are a list of ideas to develop life-long learning process in individuals from www.lifehack.org

1) Always have a book.

2) Keep a “To-Learn” List

3) Get More Intellectual Friends

4) Guided Thinking

5) Put it Into Practice

6) Teach Others

7) Clean Your Input

8 ) Learn in Groups

9) Unlearn Assumptions

10) Find Jobs that Encourage Learning

11) Start a Project

12) Follow Your Intuition

13) The Morning Fifteen

14) Reap the Rewards

15) Make it a Priority

More details can be seen from the link given here:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/15-steps-to-cultivate-lifelong-learning.html

Behavior must be tied to consequences. Organizations should have incentive systems by which rewards are earned by advancing in continuous education, professional development, and also personal development. To accomplish this: 1) The organization must offer a permanent training program; 2) There must be scholarships (partial or full), funds, and time for employees to also access external trainings and even professional degrees; 3) A clear set of rules; 4) Communication and transparency in the management of the training program and associated rewards; 5) Identify exemplary performance by collaborators, to motivate others to seek more training; 6) It is important also that high executives and managers set the example for others (a boss who does not keep up with new developments in their own field, sends out a bad message).

Regards,

Edgar

Well written question, but lets think if better education (inluding lifelong learning) really gives better oportunities to work (better yearly income, higher post, increased self-assessment). If not - nothing can change this situation. Sometimes employers simply don't want to pay higher salary for higher education level or newest knowledge and qualifications of the employee. What about motivation of employees? Sometimes PhD earns the same money as MSc, sometimes as MSc is easier find job than PhD. There are many workers frustrated thinking about this situation. Of course money are not sole motivation, but sometimes: main. From the other side: competition shapes this market, but if the reward is too small, no one wants to compete :)

You are right - this is complex situation and it needs complex solution, if available. I am curious your opinions about world, where knowledge nd experience of employees are not precious for employeers. It may be much worse: think about world filled with Coursera-like free education forms, without traditional universities (free education, even the highest may not be so precious like today). There are PhD studies, online MBA studies, what else? Who first will provide free online PhD studies? What about value of diploma? In my country 39% of young people graduates BSc or MSc. PhD is very popular. Postgraduate studies are common among people with MSc. Coureses are popular, if give well recognized certificates. What next? No limits? MBA for everyone? Where possibility to give them work adequate to their qualifications?

Dear Debi

Life long learning is a process that has to come from within a person rather than from outside. If there is no desire on the part of the employee any amount of coercion is not going to help. It is like taking a horse to the water tank but you cannot make it drink. (I think you showed that graphic in some thread!)

May be some kind of incentive for achievement may help. May be the organization and its HR division should liaison with educational institution to plan some range of courses that will be beneficial to them and award a degree. I remember we at IIT Delhi worked with BHEL to develop a M Tech program for their engineers in Turbo-machinery program. It was run successfully.

A few examples of learning programs:

John Deere pays their employees to do courses in our university. In the process they get higher degrees either BS or MS and promotions.

In US for school teachers in order to maintain their teaching license every year they have to do certain number of university credits.

Professional engineer certification also require that they do certain credits every year, without which it will not be renewed.

In Indian banks I think they have to pass certain examinations to get promotion to higher cadre?

Here are a list of ideas to develop life-long learning process in individuals from www.lifehack.org

1) Always have a book.

2) Keep a “To-Learn” List

3) Get More Intellectual Friends

4) Guided Thinking

5) Put it Into Practice

6) Teach Others

7) Clean Your Input

8 ) Learn in Groups

9) Unlearn Assumptions

10) Find Jobs that Encourage Learning

11) Start a Project

12) Follow Your Intuition

13) The Morning Fifteen

14) Reap the Rewards

15) Make it a Priority

More details can be seen from the link given here:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/15-steps-to-cultivate-lifelong-learning.html

@Debi, this attached contribution with many papers, many different experiences is helpful resource for your fine thread! It is very important issue when UNESCO Institute for Education treat it! 320 pages!

There are a lot of ways for lifelong learning among employees working with organizations. Group learning and encouraging employees to read books are the most important ways.

Here is the OECD document on “The Role of National Qualifications Systems in Promoting Lifelong Learning”

http://www.oecd.org/education/innovation-education/34376318.pdf

Dear Nageswara:

I agree partially with you when you say that "motivation has to come from the individual". People are not isolated beings. We all live in a group (family, organization, society). Motivation arises in a bi-directional relationship between the individual and his or her social environment. If there are no tangible reasons for doing something, people are not going to do them "out of nothing". And I am not talking only about economic rewards ($$). Almost everything we do is motivated by social expectations and social consequences: approval, identity, feeling part of a group, affection, care, etc. If the organizational environment does not provide the platform for motivation, it is not going to appear all of a sudden from within individuals. I also think that "coercion" might not be the best way to characterize this. None of us likes to feel threatened. Organizational systems can be in fact coercive, but this is not always the case (hopefully, most of them are supportive enough).

Regards,

Edgar

Dear Edgar

I fully agree with you. The reward system will help the employee to try and improve himself/herself. If the motivation comes from inside then that coupled with reward system will help the employee to do better. The onus will be on the employee as well as the employer. Both of them will have to make sure that things work. No coercion!

To promote continuous learning among employees must teach them to cultivate the taste of creativity, innovation continues in a competitive world. A company with its pillars are creativity can keep the cost of competition and providing more access to its employees and framework to react when opportunistic.

Briefly, attitudes and values play important role in motivating most employees towards lifelong learning. Scholarship throughout their lives is another way to promote life-long learning among employees.

By giving them incentives such as, 1-sending them to seminars and paying a part of the fee for the courses/seminars they attend. 2)considering that in promotion and salary increase.

I've agree with all Prof. Comment.

I've i might added leader at the organizations suppose to modelled the value themself,as the other will pay respect and followed the leader example.

Motivational session on the benefit of life long learning to theirself and to organization goal and target.

Organization measurement and assesment of life long learner as an intagible assets to pmf as it goes to additional reward (constructing positivesm rather than punishment).

I learn more and more from this question from Prof. Debi,Prof .Nageswara,Prof. Jacic,Prof.Kamal,Prof. Adel and Prof.Shafig...Thank you

Dear Debi, It good to promote life long learning in an organization. However it depends on education background of employees and nature of each organization.Those who are educated may be eager to learn new things. Those who are low educated may not strive to learn. Then how we can bridge this knowledge gap.

Choen, I disagree with the correlation you make between lack of interest in learning & low education. If anything, the correlation is between poor self efficacy and engagement in learning. That being the case the question becomes, 'How do we reengage the employees with poor self efficacy?'The best solution is to ensure that there is a clear link between effort (to learn) and success, and relies on the effectiveness of the middle manager to recognize and value effort to improve, and effective organizational systems for hitherto do so.

Dear Mark, the situation I pointed may happen in developing countries, which is mixed. But may not be the case in developed countries.

Should 'individual learning' take 'learning from group members' into account?

If one person learns everything, how many jobs will be lost? For instance, I may refuse to learn some aspects to give others (e.g. younger people) the chance to get a job.

Dear friends

Thanks for you wonderful answers. I would say one can have a lot of ideas by reading into the threads. Some of you think, like is visible in the well-reasoned post of Emilla, that LLL (life-long learning) is for an academic degree. Emilla, well it can be for a degree, but in that case perhaps it may not be quite life long, as it stops when you earn the degree.

You will appreciate that learning may consist of skills, knowledge and abilities (KSAs). It can be acquired by any of the following means:

Analyzing

Discussing

Listening

Exploring

Experiencing

Problem-solving

Benchmarking

Experimenting

Examining

Critiquing

Studying/reading

Story-telling

Doing

Re-doing

Telling/sharing

Watching

Teaching

Conferencing

I would like to comment on the threads not in one but different posts as people are disinclined to read if a thread is too long.

But let us first have comments on this formulation that by LLL we do not mean only learning for a degree or a diploma, but acquiring new competencies.

Then the question is: who has the capability to learn. There is an opinion that people with low education may be disinclined to be in LLL mode. I was wondering if others also think so. Some of my very good friends are semi-literate people.I have more regards for them for their competencies and emotional intelligence than for many educated ones.

What do you think about these and other issues?

Thanks Dear Ljubomir

The book you have attached is excellent. I am of the considered view that just reading this book can be useful in motivating people to resort to LLL. Thanks once again.

Another simple approach: You can lead by being a role model!

Dear Abdalla,

Life-long learning must be/remain a pleasure. No stress, please!!!

I think it's hard to change what is already done poorly. It is best to invest in good education for children, showing that learning is something for life and not just to get a job.

LLL is one of the best attitudes one can adapt. A person should never feel that he has enough. We learn from everyone and everything around us. All of us are learners but some are proactive, some active while some inactive. It is which part we play. Proactive learners get benefitted the most . LLL should be inculcated right from childhood.

In European Union, LLL is promoted through TEMPUS programme! Structure of the Lifelong Learning programmes are given bellow!

http://www.tempus.ac.rs/en/lifelong-learning-programme/