A restructuring of school and university education is proposed this week by the think-tank Demos.
In The Creative Age, co-author Kimberley Seltzer says the emphasis on qualifications must be reduced so that the skills needed for a knowledge-based economy can be integrated into mainstream teaching.
"We need to redefine what - and who - is a teacher," Ms Seltzer said. If universities did not respond, their traditional role would be overtaken by private-sector corporations eager to persuade young people to begin lifelong learning in a workplace.