COVID-19 as a Catalyst for Digital Lifelong Learning and Reskilling

Abstract

Due to COVID-19 and following social distancing many face-to-face business as well as educational activities have been replaced by digital ones. Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) to achieve quality education for all and lifelong learning will stagnate. But the radical changes within education due COVID-19 also open the way for new forms of lifelong learning by using e-learning platforms - digital lifelong learning. This paper is based on literature review as well as work of the author within the Study Group Lifelong Learning and projects. It presents first critical skills required in the next years for reskilling and methods and pedagogies that should be included into education and training. Secondly the necessity and advantages of digital lifelong learning during and after COVID-19 pandemic and how Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) will be supported are shortly described. Thirdly how digital lifelong learning methods can be used in entrepreneurship education and some lifelong skills developed within projects worked by the author as well as used methods are discussed. Some conclusions and recommendations are given i.e., entreprene\xa0 urship educators should be better trained and critical in their methods and educational agencies should foster digital frameworks for entrepreneurship education. Research studies are necessary to know how entrepreneurship educators have embedded digital lifelong learning into their lessons, including positive and negative experiences, and if exists a correlation between a country level of COVID-19, country economic situation, digitalization and digital lifelong learning/entrepreneurship education.