It is widely recognized that working life skills needs are changing rapidly. According to the World Economic Forum, as much as 39% of workers’ existing skills (average) will be obsolete or change by 2030. Overall, the ongoing change of working life skills can be compared to the Industrial Revolution, which challenges current lifelong learning practices.  The importance of skills development for individuals and companies is emphasized in many EU policies, becoming visible for example through the Recommendation of a European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability and initiatives such the European Year of Skills.

The need for a workforce with in-demand skills is driving higher education institutions to rethink their approach to lifelong learning. This article highlights the significance of understanding the ongoing changes at the higher education level. It presents insights from university-industry collaboration that explore new methods of continuous learning applicable to workplace scenarios. A case-study approach is utilized to gain a more in-depth understanding of both the context and the phenomenon. This paper describes diverse collaboration projects, utilizing various data sources such as interviews, observations and documents.

Key findings suggest that bridging the gap between working life needs and higher education offerings requires higher education institutions to adopt a new approach to designing training and skills development programs. As a result, the authors outline the following strategy: 

1. Understanding the demanding operating environment 
2. Developing innovative workplace collaboration models (work-based learning) 
3. Shifting towards co-creation with industry
4. Emphasizing learning design methods and utilizing diverse digital solutions for competence development 
5. Incorporating foresight in skills development

To conclude, this paper aims to contribute to discussions on the future of higher education in the context of lifelong learning. Traditional learning models are no longer sufficient given the rapidly changing skills requirements and tight economic resources of companies. As recognized also in the emerging global micro-credentials phenomenon, skills development must occur in stronger collaboration with companies, supported by diverse digital solutions and foresight data on potential future developments.

Keywords: University-industry collaboration, lifelong learning, competence development, R&D activities .