FOREWORD

I believe that the key ingredient to corporate success is human capital. Global companies, across sectors and across industries, depend on the quality and preparedness of their people to produce leading-edge products and services that result in competitive advantage in an ever-changing marketplace. In recent years, the American labor market has failed to source an adequately skilled workforce to satisfy these changing needs. Our collective education-to-work system in this country is in transition, and there is an urgent need for change.

Throughout my career, I have recognized and appreciated the benefit of human capital and consistently invested in a wide range of development initiatives. At Pearson, I have continued our long-standing tradition of supporting workforce development initiatives. Through a number of programs, our executive team is strategically committed to partnering with community and educational organizations to equip our employees with the requisite skills and competencies to do their jobs at an optimum level. In addition to developing the skills of our employees, we want to contribute to the development of a local, regional, and national system that leverages multiple partners in pursuit of a structure that is better equipped to prepare the workers for tomorrow. For example, in 2012, Pearson partnered with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) to change the way adult learners in Kentucky access educational resources and invest in their academic futures. The goal was to revolutionize KCTCS’s already successful Learn on Demand (LOD) program, using Pearson’s technology (in particular our MyLab platform) to facilitate increased competency-based learning opportunities. Through this adaptable and customizable curriculum, students now have an opportunity to obtain workforce skills and earn their academic credentials more quickly while remaining focused on genuine learning—and all at a lower cost. Through this program, we are pioneering a new precedent for the responsibility and role of a public company in collaboration with a broader system of partners committed to helping people successfully “skill-up” and transition in today’s economic realities.

This handbook clearly and proactively articulates the changing environment and market context facing today’s businesses and related workforce. It highlights the imminent challenges that dictate success or failure and establishes an aggressive call-to-action for organizations to work together to create a lifelong learning system that is responsive and sustainable. The profiles of successful models provide insights into best practice approaches that can be leveraged for replication and further enhancement.

Jason Wingard and Michelle LaPointe are leading scholars in the areas of professional education, lifelong learning, and policy development. Their collective research and practical experiences have enabled them to develop a book that sounds the alarm on the universal problem, demonstrates key components of potential success, and offers a guiding framework as a solution for change. Learning for Life is a handbook for lifelong learning that will help employees and employers alike bridge the gap between relevant education needs and contemporary skills demands.

John Fallon
CEO, Pearson