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Learning as an Ongoing Journey

Updated: 4 days ago


Anyone who has engaged in tertiary education will know that there is a common attitude that university/TAFE is primarily a means to an end, rather than a meaningful journey in its own right. This is reflected in the body of research on commodification and credentialism in higher/tertiary education (Tomlinson & Watermeyer, 2022). However, there is a lot to be said for the old wisdom that learning should be an ongoing journey.

Two concepts related to ongoing learning are upskilling/professional development and lifelong learning (LLL).

Upskilling and Professional Development

These terms are associated specifically with ongoing learning related to our occupations and work lives.

Upskilling involves learning new skills to improve our performance in our current job role, which can be achieved through various forms of professional development (Stobierski, 2025). This can be contrasted with reskilling, which involves learning new skills in preparation for a transition to a new role (Stobierski, 2025). Upskilling and professional development are essential in fields such as education, healthcare (including mental healthcare), and tech (Hargreaves & O’Connor, 2018; Sheikh et al., 2007; Michaelides, 2024).

Although it may sometimes feel like a chore when it is imposed upon us, upskilling and professional development has many benefits, including:
  • The opportunity to familiarise ourselves with current/best practices in our field (Dickfos, 2019).
  • The opportunity to develop a reflective/reflexive attitude regarding our own professional practice. This allows us to identify potential areas of improvement (Sheikh et al., 2007).
  • The opportunity to network and build solidarity between ourselves and our colleagues. This allows for future collaboration and the creation of meaningful connections (Hargreaves & O’Connor, 2018).
  • The opportunity to refine technical skills, such as digital literacy and data analysis, as well as ‘soft skills’, such as effective communication and leadership (Michaelides, 2024).

Lifelong Learning (LLL)

The term ‘lifelong learning’ implies something broader than professional development. It refers to learning that persists through all stages of life and spans learning carried out across institutions of formal education, the workplace, community environments, and the home (Laal, 2012). This learning may relate to academic topics, but it can also include skill and hobby learning, such as playing an instrument or creating visual art (Joseph & Human, 2020; Lawton & La Porte, 2013).

LLL presents several benefits, including:
  • Allowing us to adapt to a changing world that will inevitably render aspects of our education out of date (Laal, 2012).
  • Allowing us to build social connections with people who share our interests (Joseph & Human, 2020).
  • Ensuring that we possess the knowledge and information literacy necessary to live a rational and ethical life.
  • Allowing us to experience personal fulfilment (it’s great to be the person who mulls over the big questions in our quieter moments).

Whether our motives are ultimately personal or professional, there are several ways of making sure that we continue to learn while not currently undertaking formal study.

1) Engage in Everyday Acts of Intellectual Curiosity

  • Taking an interest in ideas is a progressive habit. Once you have begun to exercise your critical thinking faculties, they will continue to grow.
  • Whether you find yourself reading science books, watching history documentaries, or listening to podcasts, personal pursuits can help develop your ability to process information and evaluate ideas.
  • This way, you can hone your intellectual curiosity organically and experience the intrinsic motivation to learn.

2) Know Why You Are Learning

  • Learning-related goal-setting can be difficult outside of a formal learning environment, but it is difficult to get anywhere if we don’t know where we are going.
  • Short-term learning goals can include things like, becoming fluent in the use of an online platform that is gaining popularity in your field, reading at least one non-fiction book each month, or getting to grips with a creative pursuit.
  • Longer-term learning goals may be more general and concern the reasons for your short-term goals. They may include making yourself a competitive candidate when applying for further study, becoming qualified to undertake a new job through upskilling/reskilling, or simply gaining a more well-rounded worldview.

3) Keeping the Ball Rolling

  • Even goals of the kind that I listed as ‘longer-term goals’ should be subservient to the broad goal of maintaining the ability to tackle any intellectual/occupational challenge that may come our way in future.
  • Develop an interest in the process of learning itself.
  • Don’t be embarrassed to study when not enrolled in formal education (Having a bookshelf full of books with sticky notes is awesome).

To conclude, continuous learning is an essential aspect of personal and professional growth that extends far beyond formal education. Whether you’re undergoing professional development to thrive in the workplace or exploring ideas to satisfy your own curiosity, ongoing learning is essential to thriving in a changing world.

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