Lifelong learning as the highway to global competitiveness for Lithuania: a bumpy road

Abstract

Lifelong learning (LLL) is of great importance in transitional nations such as Lithuania as a vehicle in the restructuring Of the nation's knowledge to bridge the gap between formal education and the real needs of work, while the fuller reform of its educational system is still underway. This study provides a holistic approach to LLL and its role as a catalyst for structural changes in society, the climate for innovation, work organizations, and management. Particular attention is paid to the role of Lithuanian universities in the development of LLL activities and the associated transformation of their functional abilities to develop efficient knowledge processes for society. The most prominent theme is the role of universities in the deepening crisis of the educational system, specifically their inability to establish sustainable and efficient knowledge partnerships With other sectors. How soon and how effectively Lithuania completes its postcommunist economic transition depends oil how the nation's human capital call develop the requisite knowledge structure.