Over the past century, policymakers worldwide have invested significantly in rapidly expanding postsecondary education. Today, UNESCO estimates that 235 million postsecondary learners are enrolled in 90,000 institutions globally. However, many higher education institutions remain entrenched in their industrial education roots, including batch entry (e.g., age), standardized delivery (e.g., face-to-face), and conventional assessment. Furthermore, many postsecondary systems remain fragmented, hierarchical and institutional-centric. Although few would dispute the positive impact of postsecondary education, stakeholders—including learners, educators, practitioners, and policymakers—question whether the legacy postsecondary model is equipped to meet the demands of an increasingly volatile labour market. In this study, we argue that the most pressing barriers faced by labour markets today stem from the regulatory, social, and economic frameworks underpinning many public postsecondary systems. These systems possess characteristics of natural monopolies bolstered by economic and regulatory structures that limit direct and indirect competition. Contributing factors include a culture of credentialism, regulatory protections that constrain innovation and competition, and economic models that render alternative learning pathways unsustainable. In response to these challenges, we analyze frameworks adopted to open up other natural monopoly sectors, such as telecommunications, transportation, and utilities. These frameworks offer a path to an open learning marketplace. Accordingly, we propose a comprehensive six-pronged strategy to transition from a natural monopoly to an open learning marketplace. By decoupling learning pathways from assessment and certification, we aim to unlock the vast potential of the entire learning system.

Keywords: Human capital, monopoly, economic development, education policy, innovation.