But how do we accommodate all these different needs and ensure that everyone, regardless of their age and social situation, has the same opportunities? Thanks to the dawn of flexible and non classroom-based learning, there are more options than ever before. Gone are the days of structured lectures - instead we have the choice to learn in the best way that suits us.
For many learners it isn't a question of whether they want to train. It's a must. Re-training as a result of redundancy and bankruptcy can be an intimidating experience made harder by a well-established skillset. In this case, a classroom full of graduates and young employees is not always the best solution and can make the learning process more humiliating than engaging. Take engineers, for example - the nature of their job means they're very set in their ways. This makes re-education much harder, whereas a project manager who is used to flexibility generally finds it easier to pick up new ideas.
Another social influence is childcare. With expanding working hours and larger families, people aren't able to commit to regular evening slots in classrooms or in front of the computer. In this sense, collaborative learning has given people the flexibility to learn how they want to and maximise learning potential in a way that structured teaching doesn't allow.
It's important to remember that education is a very individual process that people tackle in different ways depending on their responsibilities and skillset.
A downturn always has a knock-on effect on training. It leaves staff reconsidering their roles and careers, just as organisations consider who they need and who they don't. As a result, people are more prepared to gamble with their careers. A general dissatisfaction and fear over losing their job means people are happier to retrain for a newer and more secure position.
In the case of the IT industry, a lack of skilled graduates and vacancies means there's a real need to keep training older staff in a bid to retain them and ensure the company can maintain its competitive advantage. While in theory the older and most expensive workers are cut first, in truth no company can run on graduate employees alone - the older workforce is essential for providing a backbone to any company. With the predicted skills gap and election results suggesting a cut in public spending, it has never been more important to ensure the more experienced and qualified workers hone their skills.
Taking all of this into account, e-learning is gaining momentum and providers are becoming more savvy about engaging media and social networking, using video and Facebook rather than death by PowerPoint. While this may be more recognisable to graduates who have grown up with social media-esque inclinations, there's no doubting that this will appeal to trainees of all ages and skillsets.
Despite the obvious benefits, e-learning still needs to be managed. It's labelled as being good for theoretical learning but still needs to be blended or made collaborative with access to mentors, learning resources and hands-on development for practical skills to be cemented.
However, e-learning is without doubt evolving and has opened the door to a new way of education that benefits all ages, skillsets and backgrounds. Age is no longer an excuse for companies not to train their staff. Instead, they should be welcoming the opportunity to expand employee expertise with open arms, especially given the ease and flexibility of training today.
Allan Pettman is UK managing director of Global Knowledge
