Dive Brief:
- An ACT Foundation study discovered that round one-third of all adults age 30 or older are working learners, defined as "a person who works for pay but is simultaneously earning credentials", writes Clara Von Ins, for the Association for Talent Development (ATD) blog.
- The study found that around half of all high school students are working while earning their diplomas, and at the full-time college undergraduate level, this increases to as much as 85%. ACT also provides guidelines for reducing barriers to working learners, including: hiring based on educational attainment alone, failing to adapt recruitment to actual needs and ignoring younger workers.
- Von Ins attributes the increase in the number of working learners to a couple of factors; learning demands are higher with the swift changes in technology, and the growing gig economy requires adults to maintain their value in the freelance market. There are more than 53 million people freelancing (38% are millennials) currently, and many are using learning as part of their career path strategy — building both their skill set and their client base.
Dive Insight:
The increased number of adults who are using learning to enhance their careers is indicative of the new gig economy that has risen out of the recessionary period. Working people no longer see themselves as another cog in the wheel of their organization, but rather as an independent yet complimentary link to overall organizational success.
Company leaders also want to promote learning as way to deal with skill shortages. Learning has taken the forefront for many working adults, whether they are in a full time job or freelancing. In order to keep up with skill demands, working learners are proactively gathering knowledge to become more valuable to the companies and clients that hire them. More companies can tap into this by offering additional learning opportunities that will help employees become more proficient in their roles.
