Are UK universities getting serious about lifelong learning?
Image by Noopur from Pixabay
Lifelong learning is one of the most prominent current themes in UK higher education. In one sense, it bears a striking similarity to microcredentials, in that it is a little vague, increasingly discussed, and not particularly new or novel. The real difference is that higher education is beginning to care about it more, it has grown in importance in the eyes of the sector.
The reasons given for this are many and varied, but one that is still wheeled out is that, unlike in the good old days, people won’t stay in one job for life and will therefore need to keep developing themselves as they move roles and sectors evolve. Which, while a perfectly good pitch for lifelong learning, feels about as in touch with the modern job market as a sepia-toned boy pushing a bicycle loaded with bread up a cobbled hill to the slow swell of Dvořák’s New World Symphony.
I would suggest that one of the biggest drivers for universities showing greater interest in lifelong learning is a theme in and of itself, which is a move towards reaching beyond the traditional young adult/school leaver audience. Whether through online education or lifelong learning offerings, this is ultimately about widening the net and catering to a group beyond the 20-or-under age bracket, which, according to HESA, makes up over 40% of all UK-domiciled students at UK universities.
Clearly, the bind that UK universities are currently in is that they can no longer solely rely on the traditional core audience to financially sustain them, whether that be UK or international students.
Although universities can rightly claim to have been involved in the lifelong learning space for some time, whether through things like CPD for professionals in medicine, healthcare, and education, among others, what I’ve been seeing recently seems different. It’s less localised, more central, and part of a core strategic direction and investment. Lifelong learning feels as though it’s become less peripheral and more prioritised.
How UK universities are investing in lifelong learning
A number of developments seem to reinforce this trend. These include the launches of new operations within universities, such as Imperial College’s new Extended Learning Institute, which, according to their strategy,
“will help future-proof careers, businesses and communities by providing the advanced skills training and values-driven leadership needed to thrive in a tech-enabled world.”
So far, this appears to be an institute that has drawn existing units into its orbit, but it will be interesting to see how it develops over time.
They are not the only Russell Group university investing in lifelong learning. Recently, Cardiff University advertised for a Director of Flexible Lifelong Learning, following a commitment to establishing an Institute for Flexible Lifelong Learning. This aligns with the university’s strategy of “creating a portfolio of new educational offerings including flexible, modularised, lifelong learning.”
In a similar, but different, vein, the University of Oxford’s long-standing Department for Continuing Education has recently been rebranded as Oxford Lifelong Learning. It is clear that the appetite for developing and investing in provision under the lifelong learning banner is increasing. Or, to put it another way, a number of universities are getting more serious about forms of education other than degrees for adult learners.
In addition to the new formation of lifelong learning institutes, others have been getting their house in order with respect to shorter, non-credit-bearing forms of provision. This includes the University of Edinburgh, which already had a broad portfolio of short courses attracting thousands of learners but lacked a university-wide platform to effectively support non-accredited, shorter forms of provision. The university recently launched a new short course platform, using Canvas from Instructure, rather than its current VLE, Blackboard. Which as an aside, is also an interesting development in the virtual learning environment (VLE) space.
They are not the only university seeking to better orchestrate and organise an existing sub-degree course catalogue. For many, this may be a good place to start, because while several universities already have notable amounts of short course provision, there are numerous examples of this being woefully operationalised and poorly managed.
What’s clear is that even though there is a greater sense of prioritisation for forms of provision under the lifelong and flexible learning umbrella, universities still have some distance to travel in developing successful and sustainable operations to support it.
The role of government policy and funding in shaping lifelong learning
Clearly, some of this growing activity relates to education policy directions and priorities. It would be obvious to point to the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) as evidence of this and as a stimulus. However, I think it would be easy to overstate its impact. Fundamentally, this new funding system (now due to be rolled out in September 2026), despite the name, does not fully encompass lifelong learning as we know it. For starters, it offers learners funding in the form of a loan for modules at Levels 4, 5, and 6, which, for the uninitiated, encompass the qualification levels of an undergraduate degree.
It won’t provide funding for non-credit-bearing, sub-degree provision that falls under the banner of short courses, professional certificates, continuing professional development (CPD), continuing education, executive education, or the significant and growing number of postgraduate standalone/unbundled modules and microcredentials. The funding is focused on disaggregated undergraduate provision, which currently has a minimal presence in the UK higher education lifelong learning landscape.
It’s an ambitious move, with huge question marks over it. Whether it will act as a stimulus for universities to develop unbundled undergraduate provision remains to be seen, but I’ve seen little evidence of this so far. Ultimately, this is an investment decision for universities, and part of the calculus is whether there is sufficient trust in government to believe they are in this for the long haul, something that may have been eroded by decisions such as funding changes for Level 7 degree apprenticeships.
There is also the challenge of marketing something quite new. Question marks over demand have hovered around the type of provision the LLE will support, and it’s difficult to present a case for demand for something that doesn’t currently exist in the system. That is going to require significant marketing spend and the kind of capability that many universities lack when it comes to reaching adult learners. While universities are fundamentally set up to market and recruit school leavers on a structured pathway to higher education, reaching adult learners is a different kettle of fish entirely, and one that universities are often poorly equipped for. In fact, universities’ ability to reach, market, and recruit an adult learner audience is a greater concern for me regarding the success of the LLE than demand itself. And although I don’t wish the LLE to fail, at this point, I look upon it with similar levels of confidence I have in a wildcard celebrity contestant on Strictly making it past week two.
An initiative that is arguably more aligned with the current lifelong learning landscape, rather than seeking to graft on a new component, is the Flexible Skills Programme in Wales, which supports businesses in Wales to develop their workforces. Employers can apply for funding to cover up to 50% of accredited training costs, to a maximum value of £50,000 per application. Although this is employer rather than individual-focused, it does not confine itself to funding disaggregated undergraduate modules.
Although the ability of these initiatives to effectively support and stimulate lifelong learning provision is a key area of debate, they form part of the growing mood music around lifelong learning. This is further supported by the signals and focus of new entities such as Medr in Wales, which states in its draft strategic plan 2025–2030:
“Lifelong learning is an imperative in a rapidly changing economy and society. No longer can learning be confined to time spent in compulsory education – learning should be embraced at all stages of life.”
In England, the establishment of Skills England also very much plugs into this.
The operational and strategic challenges for universities
Whilst there are a range of signals and developments that may give universities confidence to develop forms of provision aligned with lifelong learning, the challenges for most universities are myriad. There will be a significant need to develop new organisational and operational capabilities and infrastructure. There is also the challenge of building a portfolio of provision that is financially sustainable, as the last thing the sector needs is another loss-making form of provision.
There is also the not insignificant challenge of competing in a market where other universities are just one of many players. I think it’s fair to say that one of the biggest and least reported developments in education over the last 20 years has been the vast growth in the number of courses available, offered by a wide spectrum of providers, ranging from individuals and small businesses to large corporations and course platforms. I’ve heard this described as the shadow education market, which seems very apt. To give some examples: why would a learner take a course from a university on graphic design when they can complete a professional certificate from Adobe via Coursera? Or why would a learner take a digital marketing course from a business school when they can study with a prominent industry expert via their own website?
This also hints at another challenge, which is offering courses that are professionally orientated and up-to-date. If we take the example of the form of provision the LLE is seeking to support, then we should question the suitability of current review cycles for undergraduate degree curriculum. In my experience working in higher education, I have seen some fantastic examples of up-to-date curriculum alongside some hopelessly outdated courses, sometimes due to an educator being unwilling to update their knowledge and teaching. Regardless of the cause, the challenge of keeping the curriculum current and in tune with learners’ needs will be a significant one here as well.
Getting serious about lifelong learning
On the whole, despite challenges and some questionable policies, I think the growing prioritisation of lifelong learning is a positive development. If universities can successfully evolve to offer this type of provision in an effective way, and make the necessary changes and investments to support it, this will represent a fundamentally positive shift for UK higher education.
Although this can be seen as branching out into a new area, these changes and that evolution have the potential to positively impact the entirety of a university’s provision and operations over time. While the challenges are many, a key one will be bringing people along on this journey and being brutally honest about the change and investment required.
There can be a tendency in the sector to move into something new without developing an effective strategy or investing in the necessary capabilities and infrastructure, and when it fails, to essentially say, “we had 11 players, how come we didn’t win?”
Although lifelong learning does not exclusively equate to online education, both are distinct forms of provision, they each require change not only in teaching and learning, but across the breadth of university operations. The institutions that truly understand this stand a much greater chance of success than those that don’t.
