Lifelong learning: The market hiding in the longevity economy
BY JOSEPH F. COUGHLIN PH.D
When most people talk about the longevity economy, they focus on two bookends of that story: health and wealth. Important, yes. But what about the many chapters in between? One of those neglected chapters is education.
In my recent Forbes article, From Classroom To Retirement: Why Education Is A Lifelong Investment, I argue that back to school is no longer just for kids heading off to college, but for every one of us who now faces longer lives, longer careers, and a future of work that seems to change every time you update your apps.
“The winners in tomorrow’s economy won’t be those proudly pointing to diplomas earned 20 years ago. They’ll be those who can demonstrate how they’ve remained evergreen.”
From one-and-done to always-on
For much of the 20th century, education was a one-and-done event. Graduate in your twenties, work for three or four decades, and then retire. The neat line of school to job to gold watch now feels as quaint as a rotary dial phone.
Today, knowledge has a half-life. Skills that lasted decades now decay in a few years. 
Artificial intelligence, automation, and shifting global markets are rewriting the rules of work across both factory floors and office towers. Even this year’s computer science graduates, according to a Newsweek story reporting New York Federal Reserve data, show that the once gold standard undergraduate degree has one of the highest unemployment rates among all majors. That should make all of us pause.
Longer lives add pressure. Many of us will be working into our seventies. The thought of doing the same thing every day for 40 years is unappealing to me. I assume that many of you may feel the same. That said, given the velocity of change, it’s also unrealistic
The market is already growing
Trade schools, community colleges, and universities are already cashing in.
- Trades: Plumbers and electricians are now expected to integrate IoT sensors and renewable systems. Programs cost tens of thousands, but certifications must be renewed constantly.
- Universities: Executive MBAs and management programs routinely charge six figures. The good news is that students often see promotions before the ink on their tuition checks dries.
- Online scale players: Southern New Hampshire University, with more than 200 programs, has become one of the world’s largest online universities by serving working adults who are not 18-year-old freshmen, but 38-year-old parents.
My MIT colleagues offer a stellar example. MITx’s Micro Masters in Supply Chain Management can point to 1.2 million enrollments across 195 countries. That’s program success and empirical evidence that shows just how global and voracious the demand has become.
My colleague Eva Ponce, Director of Online Education, at MIT’s MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, put it best: “While technology advances rapidly, human skills remain essential — requiring continuous learning.”
This isn’t just a trend. It’s a market. A very large one. And, where there is a market, there will be new entrants turned competitors.
Who else will get into the learning business?
Here’s the provocation: if lifelong education is the next big utility, who else might start offering it?
Just playing here, but consider these, let’s call them, “off-campus” possibilities:
- Financial services firms could bundle education credits into retirement plans. Why not hedge longevity risk with “evergreen learning funds” with pre-selected education providers? Suddenly, a conversation between a financial advisor and a client is about a 529 plan for the kids’ college fund and your plan to upskill or transition.
- Employers might shift from offering one-off training to providing lifelong “learning stipends” as standard benefits.
- Healthcare systems could prescribe classes as cognitive medicine, reimbursed like physical therapy. Could your HSA buy you class credit?
- Tech giants might turn learning into a subscription, just like music and streaming. Imagine “Spotify for Skills.” Amazon already offers classes through Amazon Skill Builder and through various online providers. Why not widen the offering to other skills and fields?
If education is the new rent, expect landlords to go far beyond vocational programs, community colleges, and universities.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at SF State is an active community of peers age 50 and up engaged in learning through classes, interest groups, and events. Stimulating and provocative six-week courses and short Mini Courses provide personal and social enrichment, taught by current and retired professors and other experts.
It’s about far more than competence
Yes, lifelong learning is about competence and competitiveness. In today’s workplace, we are all running faster just to stay in place. But in the longevity economy, education is also about something deeper: connection.
- Connecting with new ideas.
- Reconnecting with passions set aside decades earlier.
- Connecting with people and purpose in encore years.
That’s why programs like Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes, Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, and Marc Freedman’s CoGenerate exist. They don’t just teach, they connect. And connection is just as valuable as competence.
Staying evergreen
The winners in tomorrow’s economy won’t be those proudly pointing to diplomas earned 20 years ago. They’ll be those who can demonstrate how they’ve remained evergreen.
In today’s longevity economy, education must be reframed as a permanent line item in longevity planning and financial planning. Continuous learning is as vital as healthcare and wealth planning. And it’s why businesses across industries should be preparing to serve the most overlooked, but one of the fastest-growing, markets in the longevity economy: the market for lifelong learning.
