Lifelong learning

If Old North Londoners and current NLCS students are united by any one common thread, it is a love of learning. Whatever you studied at Canons, it is most unlikely that you were an indifferent learner. Luckily, a motivation to learn new skills, to understand and deepen knowledge is perhaps our most useful asset as we prepare for the future of the workplace.

Opportunities to learn

In a constantly shifting employment landscape, lifelong learning is not just an option, it is essential. We need to acquire new know-how both to fill emerging job roles and to ensure long and fulfilling careers.

Through my work at Aptem, a Software as a Service business that works with training providers, universities, colleges and employability organisations, I help to deliver and administer learning for over 100,000 people across the UK.

Nowadays it is apprenticeships that offer a particularly effective and practical way to encourage and support lifelong learning. Learners can simultaneously study, earn and gain valuable experience. They are also available at all levels of learning. If you are not familiar with today’s opportunities, you might think of hairdressing and construction work but you can also take a degree apprenticeship and popular subjects include data science, coding and management training.

As futurist Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock, said: “The illiterate of the future are not those who can’t read or write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

To thrive in today’s uncertain world, we all need to be open to learning, unlearning and relearning. To do this, it is important to develop a sense of self-direction. Two central factors help here: metacognitive awareness and a positive attitude towards lifelong learning.

Metacognitive awareness is being aware of how you think and learn. It lets you to be more mindful of what and how you are learning. You can see how the same knowledge or approach may be applied in other situations.

At the same time, your positive attitude is closely tied to what inspires you. You can strengthen it by recognising an end goal, one that matters to you and can provide both motivation and a sense of responsibility to push yourself towards it. This gives you a level of autonomy and accountability over your progress, an approach that you can repeat in the future.

Today’s apprenticeships are designed to develop of these two attributes.

As the aim of an apprenticeship is to enable you to progress whilst in a permanent job role, motivation is intrinsically built into the model. Earning while you learn is another tangible motivator, as is giving apprentices the satisfaction that comes from being rewarded from working hard. Apprentices can also typically see their learning being rewarded by progressing into a higher-paid position at the end of their apprenticeship. And having to manage learning alongside working gives apprentices a degree of autonomy and responsibility for their own success.

Just like our NLCS education, quality apprenticeships are expansive and develop the whole person, not just job-specific skills. Apprentices are taken on a journey from limited skills to becoming an expert. They gain a sense of curiosity, discovery and self-improvement, all of which nurture a positive outlook towards lifelong learning.

Too old to learn?

Before I came to Aptem, I was under the impression that apprenticeships are only for young people, but I am glad to share that there is no upper age limit for undertaking one. Anyone over the age of 16 and not in full-time education is eligible to become an apprentice.

There is a historic association of apprenticeships with young people of school-leaving age. However, there is plenty of evidence to show that they can also be beneficial for people throughout their working life. Apprenticeships could be revisited over the course of a career as a way to transition roles.

Recognising this, Barclays has established a Lifelong Learning Apprenticeship to “help adults seeking employment after a period out of work and to create a pipeline of older recruits to build a workforce demographic that is diverse and