Without the skills to stay useful as innovations arrive, workers suffer, and if enough of them fall behind, society starts to fall apart.

隨著創新的到來，如果沒有可以傍身的技能，工人就會遭受困難。如果他們中落后于創新的人足夠多，社會就會開始崩潰。

Automation in factories and offices once called forth a surge in college graduates and today robotics and artificial intelligence call for another education revolution. This time, people must also be able to acquire new skills throughout their careers.

曾經，工廠和辦公室的自動化引起了大學畢業生的激增。今天，機器人和人工智能呼喚著另一場教育革命。然而這一次，人們還必須學會，邊工作邊學習新的技能。

Unfortunately, the lifelong learning that exists today mainly benefits high achievers—and is therefore more likely to exacerbate inequality than diminish it. If 21st-century economies are not to create a massive underclass, policymakers urgently need to work out how to help all their citizens learn while they earn.

不幸的是，當今存在的終身學習主要使成就卓越的人受益，——因此，它更傾向于加劇不平等而非消除它。如果在21世紀，各經濟體不打算制造出龐大的下層階級，那么，決策者們就需要刻不容緩地研究對策，幫助國民們邊掙錢邊學習。

The classic model of education is breaking down. One reason is the need for new and constantly updated skills. Manufacturing increasingly calls for brain work rather than manual work.

經典的教育模式正在崩潰。 原因之一是對新的且不斷更新的技能的需求。 制造業越來越需要腦力勞動而不是體力勞動。

Pushing people into ever-higher levels of formal education at the start of their lives is not the way to cope. Just 16% of Americans think that a four-year college degree prepares students very well for a good job. Although vocational education promises that vital first hire, those with specialized training tend to withdraw from the labor force earlier than those with general education—perhaps because they are less adaptable.

要求人們在年輕時接受更高水平的正規教育，并不是解決問題的方法。僅有16%的美國人認為，通過四年本科學習就可以將學生培養得足以找到好工作。盡管職業教育可以確保至關重要的第一份工作，但接受技能培訓的人往往比受過大學綜合教育的人更早地退出勞動力市場，這也許是因為他們適應性較差。

Self-employment is spreading, leaving more people to take responsibility for their own skills. Taking time out later in life to pursue a formal qualification is an option, but it costs money and most colleges are geared towards youngsters.

gear sth. towards sth.: 使...適合于

自主創業的人越來越多，使得更多的人對自己的技能負責。人到中年之后再花時間去接受正規學位教育也是一種選擇。但是，這樣做成本很高，而且大部分高校都是針對年輕人的。

Many providers are building businesses on the promise of boosting and rebooting careers. Massive open online courses have veered away from lectures on Plato or black holes in favor of courses that make their students more employable. By offering degrees online, universities are making it easier for professionals to burnish their skills.

一些機構開展業務以發展和重振職業生涯。大量的公開在線課程已經從談論柏拉圖或黑洞的講座轉向那些使學生更具就業能力的課程。通過在線提供學位，大學幫助各種專業人士更容易提高技能。

Online learning requires some IT literacy, yet one in four adults in the OECD has no or limited experience of computers.

在線學習需要一定的IT知識，但是在經合組織成員國中中有四分之一的成年人沒有使用計算機的經驗或經驗有限。