Redesigning Education and Work for a 100-Year Life Economy

Student and employer needs have evolved, and the higher education sector must evolve with them, providing accessible education whenever and wherever it’s needed. 

Making the Case 

Let’s start with a metaphor—lighting. 

Neon lights—glowing tubes of electrified gas, innovative for their time—are now largely outdated. We’ve shifted to LED lights—compact, efficient and long-lasting. This is a major transition in technology, built for modern needs. Our education and work systems? Still running on neon. 

We’re living longer than ever, yet our learning and employment systems remain rooted in a 20th-century model: learn early, work linearly, retire briefly. There’s no national roadmap for redesign, no coordinated strategy for navigating the 100-year life that many Americans now expect to live. So, what if we reimagined these systems for the full arc of life? And what happens if we don’t? 

The Stanford Futures Project: Asking—and Answering—Critical Questions 

The Futures Project, a collaboration between the Stanford University Center on Longevity and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences is doing both. It’s posing the critical what-if questions and offering a two-part answer: 

1. Redesigning education and work around five core imperatives 
2. Issuing a shared call to action across business, education, government and philanthropy 

Their 2025 report, Education and Learning for Longer Lives: Building a National Vision for Human Capital Development and Shared Prosperity, proposes a lifespan approach to learning and work that promotes equity and opportunity for people of all ages. This isn’t just about policy. It’s about people. 

At its core, the Futures Project is a call to two actions:  

1. Rethinking institutional roles across education, work, philanthropy and government to support lifelong development 
2. Acknowledging we’re all in this together, and that real change will only come from breaking down silos and building a shared vision across all sectors 

There’s a widening gap between how long people live and how life systems are structured. Rapid technological change, shifting demographics and a dynamic labor market demand a new blueprint—one that helps people learn, adapt and thrive across decades and transitions. 

Designing National Strategy for Human Potential 

To develop that shared vision, The Futures Project is convening 33 Futures Fellows from diverse disciplines to define a national strategy for human capital development. Their work centers around five interrelated imperatives: 

1. Reconfiguring education in the first quarter of life — Early childhood education and K–12 education are still (and will be) the cornerstones of opportunity, but they must evolve to reflect modern needs. Children need both foundational knowledge and the ability and desire to keep learning as change accelerates. That requires cultivating adaptability, curiosity and resilience—traits essential for navigating multiple career and life transitions. 
2. Growing talent for the present and future of work — With technology transforming work, lifelong learning must be the norm, not the exception. Upskilling and reskilling should be obtainable goals, not only in formal education but also in workplaces and community settings. Learning must become flexible, on-demand and accessible at any age. 
3. Providing multiple paths to economic mobility — The traditional four-year degree is still a gatekeeper for many well-paying jobs, but it should not be the only path to economic opportunity.  We need multiple, flexible routes to good jobs, including recognition of often invisible and undervalued care work—largely performed by women and people of color. A national vision must support those who provide care while also investing in their futures. 
4. Sustaining prosperity over longer lives — As lifespans stretch, so must our financial strategies. With many Americans relying solely on social security—and one-third lacking retirement savings—systems must evolve to help people earn more, work longer if they choose and build wealth throughout life—not just at its end. 
5. Supporting education and career transitions across the life course — Career transitions are no longer an exception but the norm, but we have not set up our institutions to help people pivot. Career guidance often ends with high school, and support for midlife or later-life transitions is minimal. We need a new ecosystem of transitions, with bridges and brokers to help learners and workers move among roles, sectors and life phases. 

Connecting the Dots in a Lifelong Journey 

The Futures Project reminds us that human potential is not confined to youth or early career stages. Human potential is lifelong. However, today’s systems don’t reflect that reality. That’s why the project advocates for a life-course approach—supporting learning and work from early childhood through older adulthood, including reinvention and meaningful engagement at every phase. 

Their approach isn’t top-down reform or bottom-up activism. It’s a third way: joint ventures—collaborations across business, philanthropy, education, government and civil society. These coalitions can build longstanding, flexible systems of opportunity, recognizing that talent is everywhere and that our life paths are no longer linear. 

Why This Work Matters—Now 

As of 2025, Americans are navigating: 

• A surge in AI and automation that is reshaping both our learning and work systems 

• A rapidly aging and diversifying population that is reshaping what it means to age and contribute  

• Shifting public trust in higher education 

If we fail to adapt, we risk leaving millions behind, losing the potential of a multigenerational, lifelong workforce. But if we get it right? We can create a society where people are not trapped by outdated systems but empowered by systems that evolve with them. A society where people learn, grow and contribute at every stage of life. 

What’s Next? 

In May 2025, the Futures Project hosted a national assembly to explore emerging frameworks and recommendations. A public release of the final vision is coming soon. The Futures Project is also creating a Coalition for Building a Learning Society to seed a national movement for investing in human talent appropriate for our time and assure U.S. global eminence and shared prosperity in the next decade. The coalition will be anchored at Stanford’s Center on Longevity in collaboration with the American Enterprise Institute, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, GSV Ventures, Michigan State University and the U.S. Chamber Foundation. This work will be coupled with opportunities for continued dialogue and collaboration.  

This is just the beginning—and that’s a good thing. No single institution, sector or generation can do this alone. The future of work and learning will require systemic redesign, shared responsibility and long-term vision. It’s time to dim the old neon lights flashing “learn, work, retire” on our lifelong highway and switch on a new vision, built for the 100-year life economy: “learn, grow, contribute—at every stage of life.”