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How to Organize Lifelong Learning in Vocational Education ( )

Vocational schools are indispensable if we want to resolve the crisis in the labor market. There are significant opportunities in the area of Lifelong Learning (LLL), which can help much better align supply and demand in the labor market. But how do you go about setting up successful and sustainable LLL activities?

The labor market is creaking at the seams. In our first blog post, we briefly analyzed the issue and concluded that secondary vocational education (MBO) has a major role to play. Setting up training programs and courses within the framework of Lifelong Learning (LLO) fits right into this. In this way, you contribute to solving a societal (regional) issue and ensure the continuity of the organization. Setting up LLO activities also contributes to fulfilling the social mission of MBO: to train people so they can function sustainably in society.

“The focus on LLO also aligns perfectly with the main objective of secondary vocational education.”

Success Factors

Of course, that’s easier said than done. Setting up LLO activities is labor-intensive and time-consuming, and the schools themselves are also facing a shortage of staff. Many employees are working at the limit of their endurance. But what should be done? Let’s first look at the organizations that have already achieved success with their LLO activities. Some vocational schools are further along with their LLO initiatives than others. We’ve identified a few Success Factors.

  1. The level of unionization in the sector in question plays an important role in the success of LLO activities. The healthcare sector is the most striking example. Healthcare institutions are often large and know quite precisely what qualifications their employees need. A nurse must be certified to perform certain procedures. The healthcare sector’s needs are therefore very specific. This makes it much easier for a school to meet the requirements of the sector as a whole. An organization like the Department of Defense also knows fairly precisely what its employees must be able to do. No wonder many vocational schools are eager to work with the Department of Defense. It becomes more difficult when an industry is not organized, or is only loosely organized. In that case, it is also hard to determine what the content of a course, training program, or educational program should be.
  2. Regional integration also influences the success of LLO activities. If administrators and teachers at the vocational school maintain good relationships with regional businesses and institutions in the area, it naturally becomes much easier to align the programs offered with the demand.
  3. The third factor that plays a role is closely related to this: the enthusiasm of individuals. As with many things that become successful, a great deal depends on the energy and drive of individual employees who do everything they can to get it developed and organized.
  4. One thing that should not go unmentioned: the willingness to collaborate with other vocational schools. When a large organization like Albert Heijn or Jumbo approaches a vocational school, it’s obviously a good idea to immediately involve “partner vocational schools” in other regions. That does require good coordination, though. Collaboration isn’t always a recipe for success, but if you handle it well and manage to get everyone on the same page, you can go a long way.
  5. Last but not least, the way in which an institution has organized its LLO activities. When carrying out LLO activities, a completely different dynamic emerges. The organizational structure must support this dynamic rather than hinder it. An institution with 25,000 students is primarily focused on the dominant group of students. Courses organized alongside the regular curriculum for continuing education, professional development, or career transition—no matter how important they may be—will always receive less attention from a large organization. The solution could be to place LLO activities within a separate organization. This creates its own dynamic, with a management team that can focus entirely on LLO activities.

    A separate, independent organization also highlights the many additional activities that need to be carried out—activities that cannot simply be handled by the teaching staff. And it makes it easier to address issues such as longer operating hours—after 6:00 p.m. or even on weekends. A separate organization is also desirable for the participants. After all, you wouldn’t expect to see a 35-year-old auto mechanic or nurse sitting next to a teenager in the classroom. Participants from different age groups bring different experiences to the table and are at different stages of life. It may be important to take this into account when designing the lessons.

Now let’s get to work! Strategy Execution!

Getting started with LLO requires the same approach as any other new initiative. Every new initiative needs focus—administrative focus. At some point, you’ll need to work with regional partners to establish that focus; after all, you can’t tackle everything at once and draw up an implementation plan. This plan should be based on the most important issues facing businesses and organizations in the region. And with that implementation agenda, you can begin to develop the LLO activities. That remains the best way to get such an initiative off the ground: start somewhere. Take action. You organize support from a regional ecosystem—or from the economic board—CHOOSE a position, and go for it.

Turner views LLO as a public responsibility. There are other organizations that offer a wide range of courses and training programs, but because LLO is a mission of great social importance, publicly funded educational institutions should take the lead. This is also because issues such as the shortage of workers in Healthcare and technology, as well as the energy transition, are so socially relevant. Private educational institutions play a useful role, but these challenges are too great and too important.

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