There is no such time as now for lifelong learning to become part of our vernacular. We keep learning for pleasure, to become increasingly empowered citizens – but also to keep ahead of the curve. The notion of lifetime careers has become a myth – as much as the need to re-invent ourselves has become a necessity.
The EU identifies eight interdependent key competencies which form a reference framework. What all these competencies have in common is the emphasis on “critical thinking, creativity, initiative, problem solving, risk assessment, decision taking and constructive management of feelings”. The Internet and ubiquitous social media in particular provide us with a range of tools to keep learning beyond our formal institutional learning.
Our operations in lifelong learning extend from the development of Malta’s Lifelong Learning Strategy 2020 to Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems for corporates. We help our clients develop:
- Digital Literacies: The simplest definition is ‘literacy for the digital age’. In practice, the mass take-up of digital technologies requires a new set of social, civic, personal, interpersonal and intercultural competences if we wish to participate in an effective and constructive way in social and working life. ‘Participation’ is a particularly loaded word in the social sciences in that it is associated with civic competence and active and democratic participation – including a knowledge of social and political concepts and structures (democracy, justice, equality, citizenship and civil rights). Our focus is on developing a set of skills that are required for digital citizenship and well-summarised by Doug Belshaw in this presentation.
- Digital competences: this involves the confident and critical use of information and communication technology (ICT).
- Connected Learning: we lever on the emergence of open education resources to help organisations develop peer to peer learning systems. Social technologies facilitated the potential to pursue and organise one’s own learning, either individually or in groups, in accordance with one’s own needs, and awareness of methods and opportunities.
- Creative Leadership and Entrepreneurship: we work with client project teams to explore creativity, innovation and risk-taking, as well as the ability to plan and manage projects to achieve strategic objectives. We use case studies to simulate social and commercial contexts where individuals have to seize opportunities and manage crises. Our focus is on the specific soft and communication skills and knowledge needed for good governance.