This chapter explores lifelong learning as a strategic priority for OECD countries, highlighting persistent gaps and emerging opportunities. Using data collected by the Education Policy Outlook (EPO) and other OECD datasets, it reviews the limited progress in advancing lifelong learning and identifies key challenges linked to demographic change, digitalisation, and widening inequalities. The chapter underscores the importance of learner agency, focusing on how individuals’ will, skills, and means shape their capacity to engage with learning across life stages. It introduces the concept of critical moments in the learning journey, focusing on those of early childhood, early to mid-adolescence, mid-career, and approaching retirement. This analysis sets the stage for policy to move beyond fragmented initiatives and strengthen lifelong-learning systems in increasingly dynamic global contexts.
Education Policy Outlook 2025
Abstract
Critical moments for lifelong learning
Lifelong learning is a strategic priority for OECD countries and a foundation for inclusive, resilient and future-ready societies. It underpins economic competitiveness, social cohesion and individual well-being. However, despite decades of policy commitments, progress towards lifelong learning remains uneven and inconsistent across different life stages and learning formats.
This challenging situation is compounded by rapid demographic, economic and technological shifts. People are living and working longer, while career paths have become non-linear, often involving multiple job changes, breaks and transitions. At the same time, technological advances such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are reshaping skill demands. These developments mean the traditional path – where people complete education early in life, work for decades and then retire – no longer matches the realities of modern life. Without a shift toward continuous lifelong learning, individuals risk skills obsolescence, and economies risk losing competitiveness. As a result, policymakers need to ensure that people have ongoing opportunities to upskill and reskill throughout their lives. Despite this growing need, current systems are falling short. For example:
Access to high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) remains uneven across and within OECD countries.
Participation in education and training across life stages has stagnated since 2012.
Foundational skills such as numeracy and literacy are declining in many OECD countries.
These trends underscore the need for systemic change. Encouragingly, new opportunities are emerging to close these gaps. Flexible learning models, such as micro-credentials and modular courses, are expanding access and enabling more tailored, responsive learning pathways. Schools and teachers’ improved digital readiness are laying the groundwork for new types of engaging learning experiences.
Looking ahead, to make lifelong learning a reality policymakers could:
Place learner agency at the centre of policy design, ensuring individuals have the motivation, capability, and resources to engage in learning.
Strengthen learners’ will, skills and means, enabling them to identify, acquire, and apply new knowledge across varied contexts.
Target critical moments in the learning journey for cost-effective policy impact, in particular:
Early childhood, where high-quality ECEC fosters foundational cognitive and socio-emotional development.
Early to mid-adolescence, a key phase for shaping motivation, identity, and digital literacy.
Mid-career, when balancing personal life can present many challenges, and potential skills decline and a lack of motivation pose major risks.
Approaching retirement, when skills can further decline; reframing the value of learning can extend working lives and support a smooth transition after retirement.
By investing in these critical moments and empowering individuals with the will, skills, and means to learn, countries can build more equitable, adaptable, and sustainable futures.
The 2022 OECD Education Ministerial Declaration on Building Equitable Societies Through Education advocates for a stronger lifelong-learning perspective, promoting the integration of formal, non-formal, and informal learning environments to improve education and training outcomes for everyone (OECD, 2022[1]). It sets out a whole-child, whole-of-society vision, encouraging education systems to leverage spaces, time, technology, and human resources to create more equitable and impactful learning opportunities.
Three years on, the Declaration’s messages remain highly relevant. The traditional sequence of education, employment and retirement no longer reflects today’s dynamic realities. People live longer, and the pace of social and technological change continues to accelerate. Today, individuals face a markedly different learning journey than they did two decades ago. They must continuously adapt to evolving technologies and contexts, from everyday tasks to complex professional activities.
The expanding role of digital technologies – from early childhood to adulthood – is drawing increasing attention from policymakers. Policy discussions increasingly focus on digital access and capability, the effects on child development, literacy and safety, and implications for learning outcomes and well-being. This change in focus underscores the urgency of preparing learners for a digital future.
Governments must ensure that lifelong learning evolves with technological change and give individuals support to anticipate, adapt and flourish. This means supporting emerging skills, fostering partnerships between public institutions and private sectors, and providing proactive support such as career guidance and reskilling programmes to help people develop themselves. Equally important is addressing the divide between individuals who are well-positioned for ongoing skill development and those at risk of being left behind. This gap often reflects differences in access to education, digital infrastructure, and employer-supported training. Without coordinated policy action, these disparities risk widening over time, reinforcing social disadvantage and limiting opportunities as people age.
To respond effectively, governments need to explore ways to make smart investments. One effective approach is to focus on key moments in an individual’s life when targeted support can have the greatest impact. This chapter examines policies during four critical stages of the learning journey, identified through extensive OECD and international evidence as periods when learning potential, life transitions and policy leverage converge most strongly:
Early childhood lays the foundations for curiosity, self-regulation and early learning, with early investment producing the highest lifetime returns.
Early to mid-adolescence is decisive for shaping motivation, identity and engagement before the end of compulsory education in many countries.
Mid-career represents both a risk for skills obsolescence and an opportunity for reinvention and upskilling.
Approaching retirement is gaining importance in ageing societies, where lifelong learning can extend employability, but also professional and social inclusion and well-being.
Evidence from OECD surveys and thematic work, including the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) and Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) reviews, consistently shows that policy actions taken at these moments can generate amplified benefits across the life course. Early childhood and adolescence are developmental inflection points when cognitive, social and emotional capacities are especially malleable, and inequalities can either widen or narrow. Mid-career and pre-retirement phases are key transitions in working life, when technological change and shifting roles make reskilling and adaptation essential.
Together, these moments provide a comparative framework for strategic resource allocation and design choices. They are not the only points at which learning matters, but they are periods where evidence suggests that well-timed, coherent policies can deliver the greatest cumulative impact on individuals, economies and societies.
This chapter first provides an overview of the global policy context facing lifelong learners today, highlighting emerging challenges and opportunities. It then develops the concept of lifelong learning through critical moments, as an introduction for more detailed analysis in the following chapters.
Lifelong learning has been a longstanding priority for OECD countries, with commitments reaffirmed in the 1996 and 2022 Education Ministerial (OECD, 2022[1]; OECD, 1996[2]). In line with the international agenda, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s vision of lifelong learning (UNESCO, 2025[3]), these declarations emphasise sustaining learners from early years to old age, integrating formal, non-formal and informal learning, and ensuring equitable opportunities across people’s lives. Yet, despite these efforts, progress has been uneven across countries and life stages.
Limited progress
In many countries, lifelong learning is still narrowly associated with adult learning or continuing education. This limited interpretation often constrains policy ambition and resource allocation. As a result, investments remain uneven across life stages and lifelong-learning strategies are frequently fragmented or reactive. Shifting political priorities can also further inhibit progress, making it difficult to sustain long-term commitments.
One of the most effective ways to kickstart lifelong learning is by ensuring that all children have access to high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). These early years lay the foundation for curiosity, self-regulation and socio-emotional skills – attributes that strongly predict future engagement in learning.
The share of children enrolled in ECEC increased substantially over the last decade in many OECD countries and economies, yet disparities persist (see Figure 1.1). While 85% of children aged 3–5 attend early childhood education, enrolment for those aged 0–2 remains low at 29%, and children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds remain consistently less likely to participate or to access high-quality provision (OECD, 2025[4]). These disparities matter as high-quality ECEC is one of the most cost-effective levers for building early skills, with particularly strong effects for vulnerable children and lasting effects on later academic performance (see Figure 1.1).
After children transition into primary school, most OECD countries have achieved near-universal enrolment for children aged 6 to 14, with enrolment rates exceeding 98% (OECD, 2025[4]). Beyond mandatory schooling, however, formal education enrolment has stagnated and some countries continue to face high drop-out rates in both upper-secondary and tertiary education (OECD, 2025[4]) (see Figure 1.1).
The situation in adulthood is equally concerning. Data show that engagement in formal and non-formal education has not improved among adults in many countries since 2012 (see Figure 1.1). It has stagnated among adults aged 25- 65 and declined for those aged 35–55, with only 43% participating in the past year on average in this latter age group (OECD, 2025[5]). Older adults saw participation drop further, with just 26% of 55-65 year-olds reporting participation in any job-related learning over the previous 12 months (OECD, 2025[5]).
Enrolment rate in formal education and participation rate in non-formal education between 2012-15 and 2023
Note: Results show OECD average. To maximise comparability across cycles, does not include adults who in PIAAC cycle 2 were only administered the doorstep interview due to a language barrier.
Source: UOE data collection (UNESCO/UIS-OECD-Eurostat) for data on enrolment rate in formal education (age group 2-65), https://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/3eu; PIAAC for data on participation in non-formal education (age group 25-65), https://doi.org/10.1787/b263dc5d-en.
Learning outcomes are also declining. Data for fourth-grade students (ages 8-10 depending on countries policy on age of entry to school), from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2023) show declines in mathematics performance (see Figure 1.2) (von Davier et al., 2024[6]). For students at the age of 15, PISA 2022 results show a drop of over 3 percentage points in mathematics performance compared to 2012, continuing a downward trend that began before the COVID-19 pandemic (OECD, 2023[7]).
Adult skill performance is also waning. Across most OECD countries, literacy and numeracy proficiency stagnated or declined between 2012 and 2023, with a significant share of adults having low skills (OECD, 2024[8]). Declines in numeracy are most pronounced among those aged 55-65-, 35-44-, and 25–34-year-olds, as measured by the OECD Survey of Adults Skills (PIAAC) (see Figure 1.2). Without sustained engagement in quality learning, adults risk losing critical competencies, particularly in numeracy and mathematics, which are central to succeeding in increasingly digital and data-rich economies. While these skills are conceptualised differently across the surveys analysed, the combined evidence signals faltering skills development across life stages (OECD, 2024[8]).
At the same time, some countries show notable improvements in proficiency levels, with Finland and Singapore leading, followed by Estonia, Norway, Chile, and Denmark (see Figure 1.3). These findings suggest that targeted policy interventions or educational reforms can enhance numeracy skills across different age groups (16-65) and strengthen lifelong learning.
Percentage change in average numeracy (PIAAC 2012/15-23) and mathematics scores (PISA 2012-22; TIMSS 2015-23)
Note: (1) This analysis considers only countries that participated in both cycles of PIAAC, except for TIMSS, where Austria, Estonia and Israel are not included; (2) PIAAC measures adult numeracy as the ability to access, interpret, and critically use mathematical content, information, and ideas in everyday life, including both traditional and digital contexts. PISA assesses 15-year-olds’ capacity to reason mathematically and to formulate, employ, and interpret mathematics to solve real-world problems, encompassing concepts, procedures, facts, and tools to describe, explain, and predict phenomena. TIMSS evaluates fourth-grade students across three mathematics content domains (number, measurement and geometry, data) and cognitive domains (knowing, applying, reasoning).
Source: TIMSS (2024[6]), OECD (2023[7]), PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education, https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en; OECD (2024[8]) Do Adults Have the Skills They Need to Thrive in a Changing World?: Survey of Adult Skills 2023, OECD Skills Studies, https://doi.org/10.1787/b263dc5d-en.
Change in average numeracy proficiency scores between 2012 and 2023
Note: Adults aged 16-65. Reference year: 2015 for Chile, Israel, Lithuania, New Zealand, United States, and Singapore; 2017 for Hungary. *Caution is required in interpreting results due to the high share of respondents with unusual response patterns.
Source: OECD (2024[8]), Do Adults Have the Skills They Need to Thrive in a Changing World?: Survey of Adult Skills 2023, OECD Skills Studies, https://doi.org/10.1787/b263dc5d-en.
Rapidly evolving skills needs
These patterns of skill decline are of particular concern when considering how quickly labour-market requirements are outpacing traditional education cycles. New technologies, the green transition and changing forms of work are reshaping demand at speed (OECD, 2025[9]). Even well-qualified individuals risk falling behind without timely upskilling and reskilling. Demographic shifts, including population ageing and longer working lives, further underscore the importance of supporting mid-career and pre-retirement learners.
Recent evidence also indicates that skills acquired early in life are not always being fully used or continuously updated (OECD, 2024[8]; OECD, 2024[10]). Across OECD countries, nearly one in four workers appear over-qualified or over-skilled for their jobs, limiting productivity and underutilising human capital. About one in ten workers are also under-qualified or under-skilled, risking job insecurity and reduced social mobility. Over one-third work in fields unrelated to their formal education, reflecting misalignment between learning and labour-market needs (see Figure 1.4).
In the context of less linear careers, more frequent job changes and rapid technological adoption, systems face persistent pressure to deliver targeted, cost-effective responses. While the pace of change can seem daunting, the same digital transformation that creates new skill demands also offers powerful tools to meet them. Digitalisation, including AI, offers unprecedented opportunities to expand access to learning beyond traditional classrooms, enabling tailored training at scale, and improving alignment with evolving labour-market needs.
Percentage of workers who are mismatched, by type of mismatch
Note: Adults aged 25-65. Results show OECD countries average.
Source: OECD (2024[8]) Do Adults Have the Skills They Need to Thrive in a Changing World?: Survey of Adult Skills 2023, OECD Skills Studies, https://doi.org/10.1787/b263dc5d-en.
Schools and teachers also report greater preparedness to use digital tools, accelerated by remote learning during COVID-19 (OECD, 2023[7]). According to principals’ reports collected by PISA across 68 OECD and partner countries with available information, the share of teachers perceived to have the technical and pedagogical skills to integrate digital devices in instruction rose from 68% to 90% between 2018 and 2022, a 22 percentage point increase (OECD, 2023[7]) (see Figure 1.5).
Results based on principals' reports, in percentage points
Note: Results show average for OECD and partners and/or accession countries.
Source: OECD (2023[7]), PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education, https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en.
Over the same period, access to online learning platforms increased from 52% to 81%, driven by investments and rapid scaling-up during the pandemic. Professional resources to support teachers in using digital devices also became more widely available, reaching 80% across countries. Smaller, yet meaningful, improvements were observed in the availability of qualified technical support staff and incentives for teachers to integrate digital tools, although the latter remained below 60% (OECD, 2023[7]). While these are perceptions of readiness rather than direct measures, they indicate important progress.
At the same time, systems should assess dispassionately where and how technology can add value to teaching and learning. Despite large financial investment, digital technology is still not transforming teaching and learning at scale. PISA 2022 shows that while a small amount of daily time on digital devices for learning can be beneficial, additional time beyond the first hour is typically associated with lower performance. According to students’ reports, the average time spent learning via digital devices per school day exceeds one hour in all OECD education systems, with an average of two hours. Students report an OECD-average of two hours of digital use for learning per school day, and in 21 OECD systems an extra hour is associated with a decline in mathematics performance (about 2 score points per hour) (OECD, 2024[11]). This highlights the need to ensure that teaching and learning processes remain at the centre of any digital innovation.
Flexible learning models, such as micro-credentials and modular courses, allow individuals to acquire skills in more focused and adaptable ways (OECD, 2025[12]). Innovative financing mechanisms, such as individual learning accounts (i.e., virtual accounts where individuals accumulate training rights over time), can empower adults to take greater ownership of their learning pathways (OECD, 2025[13]). Advances in recognising and validating skills acquired outside formal education can also broaden inclusion. Employers, particularly large firms, are increasingly investing in workforce training, recognising the strategic importance of skills (OECD, 2025[12]).
Policymakers should therefore ensure that digital tools, flexible learning models and financing innovations are not ends in themselves, but actively strengthen learners’ agency as effective lifelong learners, so that people of all ages can adapt to evolving contexts and thrive through change.
In this report, lifelong learners are “individuals who proactively engage with learning by mobilising their will, skills, and means to identify, acquire, and apply new knowledge across varied contexts”. This places agency at the centre of lifelong learning and is grounded in OECD data and previous Education Policy Outlook work, supporting the follow up on the goals set out in the Declaration (OECD, 2021[14]; OECD, 2024[15]). As such:
Will refers to the attitudes and dispositions that motivate individuals to learn, including agency, curiosity, growth mindset, persistence, and openness to diverse perspectives. These intrinsic and instrumental attributes are increasingly recognised as key drivers of ongoing learning.
Skills encompass both foundational and higher order competencies. Core skills such as literacy and numeracy form the basis for more complex capabilities. These include metacognitive skills, such as the ability to plan, monitor, adapt, and deepen their learning over time (e.g. monitoring one’s own learning, adopting proactive strategies, and engaging in critical thinking) (OECD, 2024[15]).
Means are the enablers that make participation possible. They include access to appropriate learning environments (e.g. families, educational staff, employment centres, and social infrastructures), tools (digital and non-digital), recognised credentials (e.g. education degrees, professional certifications, or micro-credentials), and key resources such as time or financial support. Their quality and accessibility shape effective in lifelong learning.
While lifelong learning is an ongoing process from cradle to grave, education systems can also benefit from adopting a strategic approach that prioritises critical moments in individuals’ lives. During these moments of personal, professional or social transitions, education policy can further support individuals’ will, skills and means across digital and non-digital environments. By doing this, governments can help individuals shape, enhance, and reaffirm themselves as lifelong learners.
Critical moments for people as lifelong learners
To build resilient, future-ready societies, education policy must pay close attention to critical moments in the learning journey. These are points in life when individuals are particularly open to learning – or vulnerable to disengagement – and when targeted policy support can have the greatest impact.
Drawing on insights from OECD data and comparative evidence, four critical moments emerge as policy levers of change for policymakers. These start from the initial years (early childhood and early to mid-adolescence), and span in adulthood (mid-career, and pre-retirement). These critical junctures serve as strategic entry points to engage individuals in lifelong learning.
Early childhood is the foundation of lifelong learning. It is during this period that children begin to develop the dispositions that underpin their capacity to learn throughout life, such as curiosity, persistence, intrinsic motivation and self-regulation (Brooker, 2011[16]). Evidence consistently shows that high-quality ECEC strengthens children’s cognitive and socio-emotional skills in both the short and long term, with particularly strong benefits for children from vulnerable backgrounds. All these attributes are strong predictors for future academic success and engagement in learning (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2008[17]).
Approaches such as play-based and experiential learning, support for emotional regulation, and the intentional development of social, emotional, and cognitive skills all contribute to positive lifelong learning outcomes (OECD, 2025[18]). The OECD’s Early Learning and Child Well-being study (2020[19]), conducted in England (United Kingdom), Estonia, and the United States, found that socio-emotional skills (related to learner will) explained up to around one-third of the variation in literacy scores, even after adjusting for socio-economic status. PISA 2022 data also indicate that 15-year-olds who reported attending pre-primary education for at least one year performed better in mathematics compared to peers who did not, even after accounting for students' and schools' socio-economic profile (Figure 1.6).
Results based on 15-year-old students' reports
Note: Score difference is the change in mathematics performance when students had attended pre-primary school for the following length of time, compared to not having attended, or having attended for less than a year, after accounting for students' and schools' socio-economic profile.
Source: PISA 2022 Results (Volume II): Learning During – and From – Disruption, PISA, https://doi.org/10.1787/a97db61c-en.
Children today are also increasingly immersed in digital environments from the earliest age. Technology can support early learning when used appropriately, offering access to educational content and interactive experiences with appropriate adult supervision. However, risks arise when digital use is excessive or unsupervised, potentially reducing opportunities for social interaction and play, and even affecting children’s sleep and emotional regulation. Many so-called “educational” digital resources lack robust evaluation or pedagogical grounding (OECD, 2023[20]). Adult guidance is therefore critical to ensure that technology complements – but does not replace - exploration, play, and human interaction.
Children’s “means” for learning are also significantly shaped by their broader environments. This includes ECEC settings, the home environment, parents and caregivers, and broader social contexts (OECD, 2025[18]). Strategic investments in ECEC – particularly for vulnerable groups – can strengthen equity and inclusion from the earliest years. This can narrow achievement gaps before they widen and foster the capacity of individuals to direct their own learning in later life (OECD, 2025[18]; OECD, 2024[15]).
As outlined in Chapter 2, countries are currently promoting policies to strengthen access and participation – for example, through fee abolition, targeted entitlements and outreach – to help ensure all children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, benefit from high-quality early learning from the start. Enhancing process and structural quality, through curriculum frameworks, workforce development and professional learning, can also support the play-based, inquiry-driven approaches that are important for lifelong learning. Together, these strategic approaches aim to overcome persistent socio-economic disparities in enrolment, quality, and outcomes.
Yet, implementation gaps remain. The policies analysed often lack explicit attention to nurturing dispositions such as curiosity, persistence and self-regulation. Workforce capacity-building efforts appear uneven, and cross-sector coordination tends to be largely project-based. The challenge ahead is not only to broaden access but to ensure that early experiences consistently foster the dispositions, skills and enabling conditions that underpin lifelong learning.
To maximise long-term impact, policymakers must strengthen both what children experience in ECEC and the systems that support those experiences. This begins with embedding the will, skills and means for learning directly into curriculum frameworks, making explicit how social and emotional skills should be nurtured in practice. Sustained professional development for staff, mentoring and time for reflective practice is essential. Supporting families as children’s first learning partners also matters; stronger outreach, guidance and cross-sector support can help parents create nurturing home learning environments. As digital tools become more common, policymakers must also set clear expectations and safeguards to ensure technology complements – not replaces – social interaction and exploration. At the same time, expanding access requires a balance between universal provision and targeted measures for those most at risk.
Finally, early childhood policies are most effective when education, health and social services work together. Moving from project-based initiatives to stable coordination mechanisms can ensure coherent support for children and families, especially during transitions to primary school.
Critical moment 2: Early to mid-adolescence
Early to mid-adolescence (ages 10 to 16) represents a final systemic opportunity to equip learners with the will, skills, and means to become resilient, lifelong learners. This period is marked by physical maturation and cognitive, emotional, social and behavioural changes (Pfeifer and Allen, 2021[21]; Dahl et al., 2018[22]). Because compulsory education ends around the age of 16 in most OECD countries (OECD, 2024[10]), these years are the last point at which education systems can reliably reach all learners.
Evidence across cognitive and socio-emotional domains underscores the urgency of intervention. PISA 2022 shows that only 55% of 15-year-olds in OECD countries and economies achieved minimum proficiency in reading, mathematics, and science – down from 69% in 2015. Findings from the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) 2023 also show that 15-year-olds score significantly lower than 10-year-olds in nearly all socio-emotional skills assessed, particularly achievement motivation, trust and energy, across participating jurisdictions (Figure 1.7) (OECD, 2024[23]). These skills form the cognitive and socio-emotional infrastructure for self-directed learning later in life (Cunha and Heckman, 2007[24]; Mitchell et al., 2023[25]).
PISA 2022 also highlights the urgent need for OECD education systems to rethink how education systems engage and support adolescents. Only half (50%) of 15-year-olds agreed or strongly agreed that they love learning new things in school, and this percentage varied significantly by socio-economic status (OECD, 2023[7]). These socio-emotional skills, while often underemphasised in curricula, are vital for enabling learners to adapt, grow, and continue learning throughout life.
Standardised differences in social and emotional skills between the scores of 15- and 10-year-old students
Note: Results show average for the six countries and ten sub-national entities participating in the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES).
Source: OECD (2024), Nurturing Social and Emotional Learning Across the Globe: Findings from the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills 2023, https://doi.org/10.1787/32b647d0-en
At the same time, while adolescence is a period of exploration and transformation, it also brings an increased risk of disengagement from learning. Students may struggle with motivation, identity or self-esteem, and some withdraw from learning entirely. But vulnerability is uneven: boys more frequently display disruptive behaviours; girls and students with special educational needs more often report low self-esteem; and those from minority or disadvantaged backgrounds experience higher levels of risk (OECD, 2011[26]; Jindal‐Snape et al., 2020[27]; Symonds and Galton, 2014[28]; OECD, 2024[29]). PISA 2022 adds that lower prior achievement and weaker teacher-student relationships are associated with increased likelihood of disengagement. These risks can manifest as absenteeism, grade repetition, and early school leaving, with long-term social and economic consequences. Students who missed more school in secondary education scored substantially lower in mathematics than peers with regular attendance (OECD, 2023[30]). Early leavers face higher risks of unemployment, precarious work and social exclusion, with significant costs for individuals and societies (OECD, 2023[31]).
These challenges unfold alongside significant changes in learning environments. As students transition from the generalist structure of primary school to the more specialised and fragmented organisation of secondary education, demands increase and the risk of disconnection can grow. Adolescents also rely more heavily on peer groups and spend more time in digital spaces, often with limited adult oversight. These changes affect both the means and motivation to learn. Their self-regulation tends to decline, increasing susceptibility to risky behaviours both online and offline (Burns and Gottschalk, 2020[32]).
Given that the digital world is now integral to many adolescents’ realities, students need guidance, support and empowerment to navigate it effectively. While thoughtful use of digital devices can support engagement – PISA 2022 suggests positive associations with behaviour in mathematics under some conditions – many students lack the ability to critically assess online information. Furthermore, although most feel confident searching for information, far fewer feel confident evaluating accuracy or credibility (OECD, 2024[15]). Without these skills, learners may not fully benefit from digital resources, limiting their development as informed, autonomous lifelong learners.
As outlined in Chapter 3, countries are increasingly recognising this moment as a strategic opportunity to strengthen learner agency, socio-emotional development and transversal skills. Across systems, reforms are updating curricula to emphasise problem solving, digital literacy and self-management; expanding support for student well-being; and strengthening guidance to help students navigate complex educational and vocational choices.
Yet, as with early childhood, implementation gaps remain. Motivation, engagement and socio-emotional learning are widely acknowledged as essential, but these aims may not always be translated into everyday classroom practice. Teachers often need more sustained professional learning to adopt more inclusive, reflective and inquiry-driven pedagogies. There is a need to support them to develop metacognitive strategies and self-directed learning, which can further strengthen students’ ability to manage their own learning and apply knowledge across contexts. Digital reforms also require greater coherence and should prioritise safe, purposeful and pedagogically grounded use of technology. Similarly, although supports for well-being and guidance are expanding, coordination across education, health and social services appears fragmented or dependent on short-term initiatives.
To make adolescence a stronger bridge toward lifelong learning, systems must reinforce both classroom practice and the surrounding support structures. This involves embedding socio-emotional learning, agency and metacognitive strategies into curriculum and assessment; providing teachers with continuous, practice-focused professional development to translate curriculum aims into an everyday classroom practice; ensuring safe and purposeful digitalisation; strengthening high-quality guidance and exposure to diverse pathways; and moving toward stable, cross-sector coordination so adolescents, especially those at risk of exclusion, receive coherent and continuous support.
Critical moment 3: Mid-career
As societies age and the nature of work and civic participation evolves, mid-to-late adulthood has become a strategic phase for lifelong learning. Adults navigate changing professional demands, with transitions between jobs, shifting personal circumstances, and longer lives, making continuous learning essential for resilience and inclusion. Evidence from the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) – covering adults aged 16-65 – provides insights into these critical moments.
During this stage, mid-career (typically from ages 35 to 44) is marked by a growing need for professional reinvention. As adults move beyond formal education into more non-linear careers, often with longer transitions between employments, they require new knowledge, skills, and confidence to remain active participants in evolving labour markets (OECD, 2024[8]; OECD, 2022[33]). Rapid technological change – especially due to digitalisation and AI – adds further urgency to enabling people to learn in contexts where new jobs emerge and tasks in existing jobs transform (Achoki, 2023[34]).
At this stage, adults’ will to learn often declines, with time pressures, financial constraints, and social attitudes limiting motivation and opportunity to re-engage. At the same time, evidence shows that participation in adult learning also tends to decline with age (Paccagnella, 2016[35]). Adaptability might decrease as well. PIAAC shows that proficiency in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem-solving skills tended to be highest among 25-34 year-olds, although these results vary by jurisdictions and personal circumstances. However, 35-44 year-old adults, which typically corresponds to the mid-career stage, performed lower compared to the younger cohort (see Figure 1.8), signalling risks of skill erosion and mismatch, despite accumulated skills and knowledge.
Scores of different age groups in the OECD Survey of Adult Skills
Note: Adults aged 16-65; includes adults who in PIAAC cycle 2 were only administered the doorstep interview due to a language barrier.
Source: OECD (2024[8]), Do Adults Have the Skills They Need to Thrive in a Changing World?: Survey of Adult Skills 2023, OECD Skills Studies, https://doi.org/10.1787/b263dc5d-en.
Yet, this stage also offers unique potential. Skills acquired earlier in life can be consolidated, extended, and complemented with new capabilities, especially digital and transversal skills that enable adaptation. In addition, other attributes such as experience and judgment can help protect older workers from labour-market vulnerability (Paccagnella, 2016[35]).
The means for learning at this stage are often shaped by employer practices, financial incentives, and access to flexible, relevant opportunities (See Chapter 4). Yet, too often, mid-career workers face multi-dimensional barriers: economic pressure, limited training offers, lack of recognition of prior learning, and employer reluctance to invest in workers perceived as less adaptable. These obstacles can make reskilling feel unattainable.
As identified in Chapter 4, a key challenge facing education systems is ensuring that education pathways at mid-career are flexible, coherent, and connected enough to support adults in undertaking learning opportunities. Targeted interventions can transform mid-career into a moment of renewal rather than decline. Many countries are promoting policies that expand flexible learning pathways, incentivise employer investment, and strengthen recognition of informal and non-formal learning to empower individuals to update skills and sustain employability.
To reduce cost and time barriers and reach those least likely to engage, systems are scaling modular, blended and online formats, paired with financial supports such as paid training leave, vouchers, tax relief and subsidies. Learner-centred entitlements, including individual learning accounts and statutory rights to training, give adults greater control over when, how and what they learn (OECD, 2025[9]). Equally important, as shown in Chapter 4, are policies that support the stackability and portability of credentials across sectors and employers. These measures make skills and qualifications more meaningful over time, allowing individuals to build credentials progressively as careers evolve. In doing so, systems can turn mid-career into a systemic opportunity for resilience and adaptability in lifelong learning.
Efforts to strengthen the long-term impact of mid-career policies require systems to reinforce both the supports adults receive and the conditions that help them persist in learning. This includes ensuring that flexibility is combined with clear progression routes, and that short learning offers are linked to recognised, portable qualifications. Guidance, outreach and targeted support can help adults who feel distant from learning to re-enter pathways with confidence. Similarly, digital tools can expand access when used safely, purposefully and with strong quality oversight. Stronger cross-sector partnerships between governments, employers, unions, training providers and community actors can also help widen reach and relevance, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and vulnerable groups.
Critical moment 4: Approaching retirement
The pre-retirement phase (typically ages 55 to 64) is a fourth decisive juncture for lifelong learning. As societies age and working lives extend due to delayed retirement, this phase is gaining renewed policy relevance (OECD, 2024[11]). Nurturing the skills of adults at this age and beyond is essential to support the resilience of individuals, societies, and economies. By 2030, on OECD average, 25% of the population will be 65+ (up from 18% in 2021) (OECD, 2024[11]).
An ageing population with low skill levels poses a significant challenge for societies. Over the past decade, adult skill levels have either declined or stagnated in many participating countries and economies. According to PIAAC, adults approaching retirement, aged 55-65, record the lowest average proficiency in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving out of all age groups (see Figure 1.8). After decades outside formal education, many face barriers to reengaging with learning (OECD, 2024[8]). But skills decline is neither inevitable nor uniform. For example, additional analysis of PIAAC results for Germany shows that white-collar and higher educated workers continue developing skills into later life, especially when their working environments stimulate regular use (Hanushek et al., 2025[36]).
However, a major barrier to tackling skills decline is the perceived lack of need for further training, which discourages engagement (OECD, 2024[10]). Employers and individuals may also see limited returns on investment due to the shorter time horizon of this age group before retirement, thus impacting the will to learn (Picchio, 2015[37]). Reframing the value of learning later in life – alongside longer, healthier lives – and cultivating age-inclusive norms is therefore essential (OECD, 2024[10]). Supporting adults at this stage also sustains learning and agency into retirement.
As shown in Chapter 5, countries are combining financial incentives and paid training leave with short, modular and stackable courses tailored to older adults. They are also embedding lifelong learning within age-inclusive workplaces through mentoring, intergenerational learning and phased retirement. In parallel, governments are attempting to strengthen guidance and recognition mechanisms that value accumulated experience and transferable skills. To improve access, many policies provide vouchers, subsidies and modular short-cycle courses, while promoting digital inclusion through community hubs and tailored digital training. These approaches appear to recognise the diverse needs of older adults and the importance of confidence, relevance and flexibility as enablers of engagement.
However, implementation remains an issue. Motivation is rarely an explicit policy aim, despite evidence that confidence, perceived relevance and organisational culture strongly shape late-career engagement. Recognition of prior learning also appears limited, age bias persists in training and recruitment, and links between learning, health and well-being remain underdeveloped.
To strengthen impact, policy efforts should focus on valuing experience, reinforcing age-inclusive workplaces, expanding guidance and community provision, and institutionalising recognition systems to support smoother transitions into retirement and beyond.
While OECD data highlight where countries stand and what priorities emerge from international evidence, their real impact depends on how effectively these insights are embedded in coherent policy design and implementation.
The following chapters apply this will-skills-means framework across four critical moments in the learning journey – early childhood, early adolescence, mid-career and approaching retirement. Each chapter analyses how countries nurture learners’ motivation (will), strengthen their competencies (skills), and provide the enabling conditions (means) that make participation possible.
Policy examples are organised under key policy aims within each pillar. A dedicated section on Strategic design choices examines how countries align aims, mechanisms, actors, resources and tools to translate policy intent into practice. Each chapter concludes with Considerations for the future, summarising lessons, trade-offs and priorities for improvement to help countries strengthen the coherence and sustainability of their lifelong-learning systems.
Taken together, these analyses show how governments are working to move beyond fragmented initiatives to build stronger ecosystems for lifelong learning – where design choices made at key life moments can multiply learning outcomes and social inclusion across generations.
Methodology
The analysis draws on evidence from 35 education systems cross OECD and partner economies. Data were collected through the Education Policy Outlook 2025 Short National Pre-Filled Questionnaire for Comparative Policy Analysis (EPO Questionnaire 2025), complemented by OECD datasets (PIAAC, PISA, SSES, Education at a Glance, Skills Outlook) and Education Policy Outlook thematic and country reviews. In total, more than 230 policies were reviewed and validated across the four critical moments.
To ensure analytical rigour, information provided by countries was complemented with desk research and cross-referenced against OECD evidence bases. Submissions were reviewed for relevance, comparability and alignment with the report’s scope.
Policies were then analysed using a comparative qualitative approach, identifying common patterns, complementarities and trade-offs across systems and life stages. Preliminary findings were discussed with Education Policy Outlook National Co-ordinators during a focus-group consultation in March 2025, which supported validation, contextual interpretation and refinement of results.
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