Purpose: Since new digital micro-credential technologies emerged a decade ago, there has been a rapid rise in micro-credentials in the education landscape. Much has been promised about these educational technologies, yet there is much confusion by key stakeholders in the digital micro-credential ecosystem. This confusion has led to significant…

Lifelong Learning (LLL) has become a pliable term in educational discourse running the risk of meaning both everything and nothing, making it necessary to look at how the notion of LLL has been taken up in different contexts, especially within the context of policy development. Because of the inconsistent ways LLL has been peppered throughout…

The role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Human Capital Development (HCD) and Lifelong Learning (LLL) is more critical than ever in addressing the challenges of a rapidly changing world. These organisations bridge educational gaps, promote inclusivity, and empower individuals through innovative approaches to learning and employment. The…

This chapter examines three distinct approaches to lifelong learning to illustrate workforce and societal development efforts in Europe, Singapore, and the United States. The case studies bring to the fore various complex issues, including, in the case of Europe, ensuring more equitable access to workforce development initiatives for all.…

Organisations that support employees to take responsibility and ownership for their lifelong learning can reinforce the return on investment in human resources development (HRD). In this way, learning is a process driven by a dialogue on personal development and steered by HRD. The result of this dialogue is mutually beneficial to employers and…

The ASEM Education and Research Hub for Lifelong Learning (ASEM LLL Hub) is a key ongoing project of ASEM (Asia Europe Meeting), an intergovernmental process that engages with 51 countries in Asia and Europe as well as the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Commission. Under the patronage of the Government of Ireland the Hub has set out to…

This article explores the interface between lifelong learning policies and the definition of social vulnerability of young adults in two regions located within the European Union. Girona comprises a constellation of small towns with important industry, service and hospitality sectors. Vienna is a global city where many key international operators…

Lifelong education has proven to be a significant challenge in the policy arena. The combination of formal education and labor-centered institutions has pressed the development of different mechanisms to understand the role of human capital accumulation in socioeconomic mobility and organizational performance. While the narratives of lifelong…

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) has been the backbone of Singapore's push to build an industrialised workforce and is currently responsible for the post-secondary education of 65% of its Primary 1 cohort. Admissions to polytechnics increased from 5% of Primary 1 cohort in 1980 to 40% today while the Institute of Technical…

This European Training Foundation (ETF) assessment provides an external, forward-looking analysis of Kosovo's human capital development issues and vocational education and training (VET) policy responses in a lifelong learning perspective. It identifies challenges related to education and training policy and practice that hinder the development…

Although the challenges of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) have become apparent in middle-income countries, the making of these systems has not been systematically theorised and compared. This article discusses such processes in Brazil --a recognised emerging economy, and Chile-- one of the last economies to join the high…

Student quest for knowledge does not have to end with donning graduation gown. Lifelong learners embed a burning desire for self-improvement throughout their lives. Though the term may seem especially applicable to the degreed graduate in the workforce with career progression in mind, lifelong learning is necessary across ages and educational as…

Due to the ever increasing demands for highly skilled workforce in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the government has focused on promoting vocational education for inculcating technical and professional skills in the young Emiratis. Currently, the UAE provides a lot of educational services to its young citizens from kindergarten to higher…

Only 23% of Malaysian workforce has tertiary education compared to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries such as Singapore and Finland that have tertiary education with an average of 28% and around 35%, respectively. This study investigates perceived needs lifelong learning programmes for professionalisation among the…

Lifelong learning policy came and went in many countries in the last few decades. Much of the lifelong learning policy experience has been either ineffective or drifting in and out of policy discussions unnoticed. Yet, in 2015, Singapore launched a new policy initiative known as SkillsFuture, which brought lifelong learning back into mainstream…