A new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows that skills development can no longer be limited to education at the beginning of a person’s professional journey. AI, digitalisation, the green transition and demographic change require continuous opportunities to acquire and upgrade skills.
Lifelong learning needs to be placed at the centre of economic and social policies, while education and training systems need to become more flexible, inclusive and closely aligned with changing labour market needs. This is one of the key findings of the new International Labour Organization (ILO) report, “Lifelong learning and skills for the future.” According to the ILO, the need for continuous learning is increasing against the backdrop of rapid technological development, including artificial intelligence, the green transition, demographic change and transformations in the labour market. At the same time, access to learning opportunities remains unevenly distributed.
Lifelong learning is more than classroom education
The report adopts a broad understanding of lifelong learning. It encompasses all learning activities throughout a person’s life – whether they take place within the formal education system, in the workplace, in the community, in the family or through other non-formal and informal forms.
This means that lifelong learning should not be viewed solely as returning to university or enrolling in a course. Skills can also be acquired through work, practical experience, online learning, informal initiatives and other forms of learning.
According to the experts, these forms of learning outside the traditional classroom remain underdeveloped, while the systems intended to support them are often fragmented, underfunded and poorly coordinated.
AI and digital transformation increase the need for new skills
Technological change is one of the key factors making lifelong learning increasingly important.
The report places skills development in the context of several transformations taking place simultaneously – digitalisation and AI, the green transition, demographic change and changes in the structure of work. In this context, it is no longer enough for people to acquire a particular qualification at the beginning of their careers. They need to be able to update their knowledge and acquire new skills as their profession and the labour market evolve.
Which skills will be most important?
One of the interesting elements of the study is its analysis of skills demand using large datasets.
The International Labour Organization analysed online job vacancy data from eight countries – Brazil, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the Russian Federation, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay. Based on this data, the organisation examined which skills are associated with better employment opportunities and how different skills work together. The findings show that social-emotional and cognitive skills are among the most sought-after.
However, the report does not recommend focusing on just one type of skill. On the contrary, the labour market increasingly requires combinations of skills. For example, basic digital skills can be combined with teamwork skills, while cognitive abilities can be combined with practical and technical skills.
This is particularly important for education, as it shows that preparation for the labour market should not be reduced to mastering a specific technology or obtaining a particular professional qualification.
Human skills remain essential
Despite technological change, the report does not envision a future in which technical skills replace all others. On the contrary, cognitive and social-emotional skills are among the most sought-after in the labour markets analysed. They can support workers in transitioning from occupations dominated by manual tasks to more complex roles. Adding cognitive skills can further increase opportunities for occupational mobility.
The report also identifies a link between higher levels of skills and better job characteristics – including stability, opportunities for development and career progression.
Not everyone has equal access to learning
One of the most significant problems identified by the ILO is unequal access to lifelong learning. The organisation’s new data show significant differences between groups. Formally employed people have better access to structured learning opportunities, while people with lower levels of education, those working in the informal economy or in occupations with lower entry requirements have more limited access to organised training.
This means that the people most at risk of falling behind as the labour market changes may have the fewest opportunities to acquire the new skills they need.
The ILO therefore calls for lifelong learning policies to be inclusive by design, rather than simply creating formal opportunities for training.
What should governments do?
The report identifies five key strategic areas:
1. A holistic approach to lifelong learning
Policies should not be limited to providing courses and training. According to the ILO, they should also be linked to other systems – such as social protection, employment services and job creation policies. Employers should also be actively involved.
2. Flexible and inclusive learning pathways
Barriers to participation in training need to be removed and non-formal and informal learning should be recognised. This includes recognising knowledge and skills already acquired and strengthening links between education, training and work.
3. Investment in equal access and quality
According to the ILO, resources should also be directed towards groups and regions with more limited access to learning. At the same time, quality assurance mechanisms are needed, along with monitoring of whether training leads to real employment opportunities.
4. Aligning training with labour market changes
Skills development needs to be connected to real transformations in the economy. The ILO recommends integrating skills development into policies addressing the digital and green transitions, the care economy, regional development and other structural changes.
5. Shared responsibility
Building an effective lifelong learning system cannot be the responsibility of governments alone. Governments, employers, workers’ organisations and training providers need to work together to design and update skills development systems.
What does this mean for Bulgaria?
Bulgaria is not among the eight countries included in the report’s analysis of online job vacancies. The issue is nevertheless particularly relevant for the country.
Recent European data show that adult participation in education and training in Bulgaria remains low. In 2022, the rate was 9.5%, significantly below the national target of 35.4% for 2030. Annual data show that in 2025 the share of people who had participated in education or training during the previous four weeks increased to 6.1%, but it remains among the lowest in the EU.
Education needs to become a system, not a collection of individual courses
The main message from the ILO experts is that lifelong learning should not be a collection of separate courses and programmes. What is needed is a comprehensive system in which people can move between education, vocational training and employment, have their existing skills recognised and access training when economic conditions change.
This is particularly important in the age of AI. Technological transformation will not happen only once – it will continue to change tasks, occupations and the competencies people need.
According to the ILO, investment in skills should therefore be viewed not as a cost, but as a long-term investment in resilience, inclusion and the future of work.
Source: International Labour Organization, Lifelong learning and skills for the future, World of Work Series, 2026.
Image: Pixabay
