It has become very obvious that learning does not (and cannot) end at Grade 12. With technology constantly changing, soft skills in flux, language changing, and moving from job to job becoming quite common, continuous learning is very important. In fact, this importance is what pushed the Canadian government to really lock down on promoting the importance of the 9 essential skills for employment.
So with this in mind, what sort of things are adult learners asking for in order to make learning easier? These trends are important to understand as they continually shape the way that education is presented.
- Accessible: A big thing for adult learners is accessibility. This doesn’t just refer to disability accessibility, but accessibility in general. With more technology at our fingertips, education can be more easily done remotely and in an asynchronous fashion. Entire degrees, including Graduate degrees, can be done online and in a more self-paced fashion, making it easier for people to further their education around the rest of their lives.
- Inclusive: Although Canada has tightened its immigration rules, the adult classroom is still a very diverse environment. And this isn’t even considering First Nations people who are returning to the classroom and people with disabilities. It is more important than ever to make the classroom more inclusive through things like diversity training for the instructors, broader materials for reading and studying, and up to date curriculum that takes into account the worries of a diverse audience.
- Empowering: It’s important to understand that education isn’t just about teaching people how to do something. It’s also important to place in situ in the broader community, encouraging engagement, networking, and encouraging learners to think about how their new skills can benefit those around them.
And of course, students want their training to be relevant to their goals and up to date! As a result, more targeted training in a particular industry is become quite popular as they are faster and let people get back to their lives more quickly.
If you’re looking at getting some updated training or education, it’s important to be very clear eyed about what you want to do and then select a school and program that will best help you get there. It’s getting easier now because more schools are broadening their offerings to entice adults who want to improve their skills without taking years and tens and thousands of dollars to do it.
