Lifelong learning is the future: opportunities for education providers

Over the next few decades, a dramatic expansion will be seen in lifelong learningongoing education following formal qualifications. The expansion of numbers in this sector – typically provided at present by short courses – will outstrip the need for degree level tuition in the formal level sector, and may even outstrip the resources of the potential providers. Since there are, as yet, relatively few commercial providers, it is likely that existing higher education (HE) institutions will be required to meet this demand, though few are as yet planning to do so. A further sector, informal education, is also growing in importance with individuals now rating personal development as more of a priority than even career development. The new technologies, especially those of information and communication technology (ICT), will be especially relevant in this sector. Paralleling these internet developments will be those resulting from the digitization of television, which will significantly overlap the informal education sectors.