Learning never stops

Learning never stops – It only takes a few lessons to learn how to handle and drive a vehicle. But driving in everyday traffic requires drivers to adjust to way others driver each day for the rest of their lives. The same applies to many other aspects of our life.

According to many scientists, healthy people go through various stages in their adult life. They tend to reassess and re-balance our values and priorities at each stage. The movement through each stage is defined as 'progression'. On average, it starts off at the age of 18. Between 18 and 26 people develop personal autonomy and sense of personhood. New relationships are tried out and very few commitments are made. This all changes when they are between the age of 27 and 31. This period is often full of turmoil as many tend to question the decisions they made in previous years. They will even question if there will be enough time to have things changed. Only between 32 and 42 does a period of relative order and stability start, as they focus more on their commitments and accomplishments. But Between the age of 42 and 48 this changes again. People will question their decisions once more, wondering if they have achieved their dreams and if it was all worth it.

It is interesting to note that people between the age of 49 to 65 are considered to be in the most productive of all the stages. It is at this stage that people are at the peak of their mature abilities. They can focus on what really matters and put more effort into developing younger people. They also have a drive to leave behind a personal legacy.

With this knowledge in mind, it is interesting to note that many employers only consider providing training to newcomers to a company, which tends to be people fresh out of school. It is exactly this category that is described as being eager to get a job, but rebellious and only willing to accept additional training to a certain extent. But those who could benefit most are often over-looked, as it is believed that they cannot deal with additional workload or adjust to new changes.

Learning new skills and adapting to the latest trends is a process that should continue throughout one's life. Social media, like Facebook and Twitter, have managed to connect people in different age categories from all over the world in less than 15 years. This is, perhaps, the best proof that people of all ages can learn new tricks and are eager to adapt.

The same applies to work-related training. As the workplace changes every day, it is important to continually offer employees guidance and the opportunity to adapt. Focussing on relatively new employees makes sense. Focussing on the entire staff compliment will see results. Experienced and proven training providers have the ability to cater for each age category, regardless of age or experience. They are able to teach even the experienced some new tricks while respecting their age and know-how.

Each time we pass from one stage to the next stage in life, we learn and mature in the process. The acknowledgement of challenges and work through the issues of each successive stage helps us become a better human and spiritual being. And if one adds work-related training to the mix, one will not only become a better human and spiritual being, he or she will also become a better employee.