Norway’s Approach to Lifelong Learning in the Age of AI

How is Norway preparing adults for a digital future?

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly transforms both the workplace and the education sector, Norway is meeting this challenge with a strong commitment to lifelong learning. By offering flexible education, digital learning tools, and clear public leadership, the country aims to give everyone regardless of age or background, the opportunity to build their skills. Could this approach serve as a model for the rest of Europe?

A Digital Shift — For Adults Too

Technology has long shaped education, but the rise of AI has accelerated these changes. According to the OECD, more than 30 percent of current jobs in Norway are expected to change significantly in the coming years due to automation and AI. Many adults will need new skills to stay employed and to better understand how technology affects their daily lives.

A National Reform: “Lifelong Learning”

In 2020, the Norwegian government launched the Skills Reform: Lifelong Learning. Its main goal is to make it easier for adults to gain new knowledge and skills throughout their working lives. This is especially important for people with little formal education, those going through career transitions, or those who need to improve their digital skills.

The reform is based on four core principles:

• Flexibility: Short, modular courses designed for people in work

• Relevance: Content developed in close cooperation with employers and industries

• Accessibility: Reducing financial and practical barriers to learning

• Digitalization: Using online platforms for teaching, guidance, and follow-up

Universities and colleges now offer everything from online micro-courses to full degree programs. Public vocational schools and private providers also offer hands-on training in digital skills, language learning, and the use of AI.

Adult Learning in Practice

One clear example of how the reform is working is through industry programs — continuing education programs developed jointly by the government, trade unions, and employers. These programs provide workers in sectors such as manufacturing, construction, and healthcare with training in digital tools and work methods relevant to their jobs.

NAV, Norway’s Labour and Welfare Administration, also provides learning opportunities for job seekers and people in transition. Together with vocational schools and local learning centers, this creates accessible learning options for adults across the country — no matter where they live or what their background is.

Learning With AI — Not Just About AI

Norway is not only teaching people about AI, but also using AI to improve learning.

In his article Learning Analytics – Looking Back and Ahead (2024), researcher Morten Søby describes how data from digital learning platforms can help improve education. By studying how learners interact with content, where they get stuck, and what engages them education can be better tailored to individual needs. This is especially useful for adults, who often have different experiences and learning styles.

However, Søby warns that education must not become overly controlled by private tech companies. He calls for clear political guidelines on how AI should be used to support learning, not drive it.

This is echoed in the official report NOU 2023: 19 – Learning, Where Did You Go in All the Noise?, written by an expert group appointed by the Ministry of Education. It emphasizes that learning analytics can help teachers adapt instruction and give learners insight into their own progress. But it also warns that algorithms could introduce bias or take decision-making away from teachers if not properly managed.

The expert group recommends:

• Clear legal rules for handling personal data

• Guidelines to protect privacy

• Good teaching practices using learning data

• Transparency about how data is used and the importance of learner involvement

Generative AI - New Tools, New Responsibilities

The newest wave of AI called generative AI can create text, images, and sound. This challenges traditional ideas about what learning is and how knowledge is assessed. In Schools and Generative Artificial Intelligence (Søby, 2024), tools like ChatGPT are seen as both helpful and disruptive in education.

For adult learning, this means we must rethink how we teach and assess. It's not just about learning to use AI tools, it's about building digital judgment, critical thinking, and ethical reflection. These are key skills in today’s digital world.

Trust as a Foundation

Norway has several advantages in facing digital change:

• An education system that promotes equal opportunities

• Public funding for adult education and retraining

• High levels of trust between citizens and public institutions

• Strong collaboration between government, employers, and trade unions

These elements help create lifelong learning systems that are not only technologically advanced, but also socially fair and inclusive.

A Model for Europe?

No country has all the answers for how AI will shape work and education. But Norway’s approach, combining public policy, flexible education, and careful use of technology, points to a path where people come first and AI is simply a tool.

Norway’s example shows that lifelong learning is not only about economic growth. It is also about democracy, participation, and security in a world shaped by technology.

Sources:

• Ministry of Education (2020). White Paper 14: Skills Reform – Lifelong Learning

• Søby, M. (2024). Learning Analytics – Looking Back and Ahead, utdanningsforskning.no

• Søby, M. (2024). Schools and Generative Artificial Intelligence, utdanningsforskning.no

• OECD (2023). OECD Employment Outlook

• NAV.no, folkeuniversitetet.no, regjeringen.no