The times they are a-changin’:
Why people everywhere need life-long (online) learning to thrive today and tomorrow.
“Come gather ‘round people wherever you roam, And admit that the waters around you have grown,… Then you’d better start swimmin’ or sink like a stone, For the times they are a-changin’.”
The world is changing. And it’s changing fast!
The world is becoming more globalized, including more economically and digitally and culturally integrated. And it’s becoming more disrupted, as digital and mobile technology changes the way we do business, as well as the the way we learn, communicate and socialize.
These disruptive changes are getting faster and more pervasive in all aspects of business, education, entertainment and communications.
A lot of this change is good and helps us, but some of it is creating challenges for business, management and people trying to earn a living in the labour market.
Video killed the radio star:
“They took the credit for your second symphony, Rewritten by machine and new technology, And now I understand the problems you can see.”
Things are changing for students in education and too for people employed at companies or seeking work in the labour market. Digital disruption is a BIG part of this change in education, but so too are the changing trends in global demographics, politics and economics.
For children and young adults, the time spent in education before entering the labour market is getting longer (as more people go to university or tertiary college) and it’s getting more expensive [Just ask anyone with a student loan]. Also, while young adults may secure a degree at university, when they leave formal education they often do so without any relevant vocational skills, expertise or experience — thereby making it more difficult for them to find their first job and get a start on the career-ladder.
For Millennials, when looking for employment, this is why their top 3 criteria for an employer-of-choice are:
1. Has strong values;
2. Will develop my skills for the future;
3. Offers me room to grow. [For young people, skills development and life-long learning have become of existential importance in their working life and career!]
For young people, skills development and life-long learning have become of existential importance in their working life and career!
People now are living and working longer than in previous generations, but while people’s working lives are getting longer their tenure in any single job or career is getting shorter.
This means the skills that people need over the course of their working lives will keep shifting and changing. It’s a case of keep adapting and developing your skills, because -if you don’t- your job may become automated or extinct…leaving you unemployed!
Basically, the need for life-long learning is the new normal for people all around the world. This is true for all geographies, whether they live in America, South Africa or in China.
Young at heart:
“Young at heart, Yet what a start, Old before their time.”
All around the world, people are living to a far older age and they’re having less children too.
This is the mega-demographic trend of the ‘greying population’.
In short, this trend is where the number of older people in a country’s population out-number the amount of young people in the workforce, so that there then aren’t enough young people entering the workforce to replace all the older people who are retiring (and might need social and health care workers to look after them in their old-age).
For example, in Germany, it’s predicted that by 2020 the number of people in the population who are 60+ will out-number the total number of people who are aged 30 or less!
If more and more people live far longer than the traditional age-of-retirement (i.e. 65 years of age) then the age of retirement will need to change in order to reflect this trend in order to make pension schemes affordable. This will mean more people will need to work to a much older age than has been the case in previous generations.
So both employees and employers are going to have to change their expectations and behaviours to adapt to this BIG trend of the ‘greying’ demographics, which will require people to work until a much older age.
Basically, all over the world, many people are working for longer (both in terms of years of their life and hours per week) and today very few people still have one job (or career) for life. As a result, we all need to keep developing new skills to remain employable and economically active. This means that we all need to embrace life-long learning.
If we don’t adapt in this way, we may find ourselves structurally unemployed (or, if we do remain employed in the same job for many years, then we may find that we’ll be earning less and less as the years and decades pass).
These trends are BIG challenges facing the world!
These trends are creating challenges for governments, educators, students, entreprenuers, managers and employees. No one can avoid them.
The question is: How can fix these problems, effectively and at scale?
Hallelujah Day:
“Can’t you see that ray of hope, Somebody finally saw the light… Somebody found the key, Somebody opened up the door.”
Happily, one BIG answer to how we address these BIG challenges is through more online learing (AKA: eLearning). And a key part of successful online learning will be the strategic use of great teachers in the delivery of online courses and curriculums.
Online learning is looking like it might provide the answers to many of the socio-economic questions that need answering in today’s world, in order to help solve these complex challenges facing people in the labour market or still in education!
Not only that but it promises a BIG new growth market for business and investors. And a growth market that has many years of BIG growth still ahead of it!
Find out more about how online learning (and great teachers) will helps solve the BIG socio-economic challenges faced by governments, business, employees and students at: https://medium.com/@hello_33256/the-role-of-online-learning-teaching-english-language-in-a-globalized-world-with-a-need-for-f42d2d9cb33
With a little help from my friends:
The Really Great Teacher Company knows that great online teachers are critical to providing high quality learning experiences for your students.
We are perfectly positioned to help our clients find the right teachers and teaching solutions for their business. We serve online schools and learning institutes worldwide, by ensuring that their students get the best quality English teachers.
The Really Great Teacher Company gives your company access to comprehensive and high quality teacher management solutions, including everything from finding them, to training them and to fully managing them. We’ll tailor-make your perfect online teacher solution to suit your exact need and you’ll love the results!
We know great teachers, we know how to find them and then apply them to your challenges!
Want to find out more about The Really Great Teacher Company:
Get in touch with us to find out more about transformative online teaching and learning trends, as well as for more about the power of our great teacher solutions and how we can assist you at: danie@reallygreatteachers.com
Learn more about The Really Great Teacher Company at our website: http://reallygreatteachers.com
