Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Futurists and experts on aging and longevity are now saying that the first people to live to be 150 years old have already been born. This is unfathomable, especially when we think about our work lives. Will the careers of the future last 100 years? Do we really think that we can adequately prepare learners with two, four, or six years of learning on the front end of a 100-year work-life? This book will open readers eyes to the fact that the students of the future will have to prepare for jobs that don't exist yet. For working adults, education will have to transform dramatically as our work lives become longer and more turbulent. Think about how many new jobs that don't exist today that a person will have during a 150-year lifespan. We must anticipate that learning will have to become more episodic and frequent. Learners of the future are going to seek out higher education over and over again. They will be looking for truly flexible, on-demand pathways that tie education to economic relevance. This book will focus on the burgeoning innovations that will lay the foundation of a learning ecosystem of the future--flexible enough for all people--to move consistently in and out of learning and work.
Synopsis
Praise for LONG LIFE LEARNING
"Michelle Weise has a knack for distilling the complexities of education, labor, and policy into an integrated approach to building a more hopeful future of work. Weise skillfully links the individual stories of working-age adults to the underlying patterns of dysfunction in the U.S. labor market. In Long Life Learning, Weise shows that the future of work is here, and that we need to act now to construct a learning-to-earning system that works for everyone."
--Byron Auguste, CEO and Cofounder, Opportunity@Work
"A prescient exploration of higher education's coming shift from 'all you can eat in one sitting' to 'what you need when you need it' by one of the most creative and respected thinkers in the field."
--Ryan Craig, author, A New U: Faster + Cheaper Alternatives to College
"Michelle makes a brilliant case not just for the necessity of adults investing in learning throughout their lives, but also for the creation of a new system that systematically supports them across their lives as they do so. This book begins to lay out the puzzle pieces of what that new system should look like."
--Michael B. Horn, author, Choosing College
"By examining economic trends, innovations in education and hiring, and the lived experiences of working learners, Weise reveals the shortcomings of our fragmented education and workforce systems and challenges us to reimagine the future of learning. Weise demonstrates how and why we must all become working learners, and presents a clear, optimistic vision for a new learning ecosystem in which we can all take part."
--Maria Flynn, President and CEO, Jobs for the Future
"Weise brings sky-high projections about the future of work down to earth with forward-looking and actionable steps to advance career-focused learning and training. Her examination of higher education goes beyond the usual calls for change to demonstrate how burgeoning innovations are laying the foundation of a learning ecosystem of the future--flexible enough for all people--to move consistently in and out of learning and work."
--Joseph Fuller, Professor, Harvard Business School and former CEO, Monitor Group
Synopsis
Long Life Learning offers readers a fascinating glimpse into a future where the average working life has no beginning, middle, or end. Contemplating a shift from the educational all-you-can-eat buffet of college and university to an "as-you-need-it" approach to delivering education, author Michelle Weise explains why and how worker education is overdue for momentous changes.
Written in two parts, Long Life Learning begins by imagining a world where increased lifespans have contributed to creating working lives that span over 100 years. The book asks the question that naturally arises as a result: Will a four-year education taken at the beginning of a 100-year career adequately prepare a worker for their entire working life?
After providing readers a thorough explanation of why our current education system is poorly equipped to educate workers for such a long journey, Weise outlines the solutions to the shortcomings of the existing framework. From wraparound supports for workers to targeted education, integrated earning and learning, and transparent and fair hiring, Long Life Learning describes exactly how the existing education system must adapt in order to meet the needs of a new generation of workers. The book makes a compelling case for the coming need for ongoing, periodic education, as well as training that is seamlessly integrated into our future jobs.
Perfect for workers, young and old, and the educators and employers preparing talent as the ground shifts underneath their feet, Long Life Learning belongs on the bookshelves of anyone with an interest in the future of work, education, and the labor market.
Synopsis
A visionary guide for the future of learning and work
Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs That Don't Even Exist Yet offers readers a fascinating glimpse into a near-future where careers last 100 years, and education lasts a lifetime. The book makes the case that learners of the future are going to repeatedly seek out educational opportunities throughout the course of their working lives -- which will no longer have a beginning, middle, and end. Long Life Learning focuses on the disruptive and burgeoning innovations that are laying the foundation for a new learning model that includes clear navigation, wraparound and funding supports, targeted education, and clear connections to more transparent hiring processes.
Written by the former chief innovation officer of Strada Education Network's Institute for the Future of Work, the book examines:
- How will a dramatically extended lifespan affect our careers?
- How will more time in the workforce shape our educational demands?
- Will a four-year degree earned at the start of a 100-year career adequately prepare us for the challenges ahead?
Perfect for anyone with an interest in the future of education and Clayton Christensen's theories of disruptive innovation, Long Life Learning provides an invaluable glimpse into a future that many of us have not even begun to imagine.