Lifelong Learning and Business Digitalization – How Their Synergy Can Transform a Country’s Economic Environment

In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that technological transformation is no longer a privilege of large corporations — it has become a survival strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises as well. This trend is at the center of the new study by BTU researchers Maia Noniashvili and Nana Janashia, “Impact of Lifelong Learning Programs and Business Digitization on Organizational Adaptability”, which argues that lifelong learning and business digitalization are interdependent processes, and that managing them together can become an organization’s most powerful tool.

In Georgia, SMEs form the backbone of the economy — accounting for more than 90% of jobs and nearly one-fifth of total turnover. Yet most of them still cannot fully use digital technologies: they lack infrastructure, funding, or skilled human resources. Digitalization is often seen as a cost rather than an investment, even though it can increase efficiency, reduce operational expenses, and expand access to markets.

The study shows that the success of digitalization is directly dependent on human capital — technologies change nothing unless employees have the skills needed to use them. This is where lifelong learning becomes indispensable. Today it is no longer just a professional course or post-university training — it is a continuous process of updating one’s skills, enabling individuals and companies to stay flexible and resilient.

Over 80% of surveyed organizations stated that digital changes within their companies require new types of training. At the same time, more than half reported that investing in employee learning increased their flexibility, decision-making speed, and team cohesion. Digital tools improve productivity, while ongoing learning enhances innovation and creativity.

However, a problem remains — small companies often lack the financial ability to fund learning programs. This mirrors the situation many countries faced earlier: across Europe, the SME sector overcame this barrier only after governments introduced subsidized digital training and SkillsFuture-type initiatives, where the state and private sector co-financed lifelong learning. Singapore’s SkillsFuture allowed citizens to accumulate “learning credits” and use them at any age — whether for digital marketing or AI model development. This approach created a culture of digital qualification, something Georgia is only beginning to build.

Finland offers another example, where collaboration between tech companies and universities took the form of “living laboratories.” In this hybrid model, students and professionals work together to develop new digital products — transforming education into a direct extension of business, rather than a separate system.

In Georgia, digital transformation remains fragmented. Outside Tbilisi, companies rarely use ERP systems, CRM modules, or electronic contracts, which keeps them outside the dynamics of the modern economy. According to OECD assessments, Georgia’s digital potential in the SME sector remains largely untapped due to insufficient state incentives and limited cooperation between private and educational sectors.

The study emphasizes that digital transformation is not merely a technical transition — it is a cultural shift. It requires organizations to change how they think about learning, experimentation, and adaptation. Companies that give employees the freedom to experiment with digital tools and learn at their own pace respond much faster to market changes and crises.

Noniashvili and Janashia’s research highlights one fundamental lesson: digitalization and lifelong learning create impact only when implemented together. When technology adoption does not match employee skills, processes slow down; but when people continuously learn how to adapt to new systems, a company not only survives — it grows.

Global experience shows that national-level success lies in achieving precisely this balance. Georgia now stands at a crossroads where it must decide whether it will remain merely a consumer of digital processes, or build a new economic model grounded in education, technology, and human capital as the country’s core innovation resource.

This article is based on the study “Impact of Lifelong Learning Programs and Business Digitization on Organizational Adaptability” and additional global sources.