The paper deals with the impact that the social requirements of continuous learning and education have on the lives of young adults. In this regard, we take a close look at the neoliberal concept of lifelong learning, which considers adult learning and education a key tool for adapting to changes in the labour market, as well as a tool for enhancing competitiveness, efficiency and economic development. Due to uncertainty in the field of employment, lifelong learning is becoming proclaimed more and more as the basis for survival in the labour market; for this reason it is increasingly moving into the area of social coercion and necessity. Young people, especially those who are just entering the labour market, are also the ones feeling the greatest impact of these aspirations and for whom the battle for constant acquisition of new knowledge and skills has already become a way of life. The research section deals with the results of research carried out among young adults who showed a high level of awareness of the importance of lifelong learning as well as considerable motivation for continuous learning in the investigated target group. It shows that the learning motives largely derive from the requirements and expectations of the society in terms of continuous learning, which is most evident in learning in the field of career, and which also engenders a certain sense of pressure or burden.V prispevku obravnavamo vpliv družbenih zahtev po stalnem učenju in izobraževanju na življenje mladih odraslih. Pri tem pod drobnogled postavljamo neoliberalni koncept vseživljenjskega učenja, ki učenje in izobraževanje odraslih pojmuje kot ključno orodje za prilagajanje spremembam na trgu dela ter orodje za večjo konkurenčnost, učinkovitost in gospodarski razvoj. Zaradi negotovosti zaposlovanja se vseživljenjsko učenje vedno bolj razglaša za temelj preživetja na trgu dela, s tem pa tudi vedno bolj pomika v območje socialne prisile in nujnosti. Mladi, zlasti tisti, ki šele vstopajo na trg dela, so tako tudi tisti, ki so najbolj pod udarom teh teženj in za katere je bitka za stalno pridobivanje novega znanja in kompetenc že postala način življenja. V raziskovalnem delu obravnavamo izsledke raziskave, izvedene med populacijo mladih odraslih, ki je pokazala na visoko raven zavedanja o pomenu vseživljenjskega učenja ter tudi precej visoko motivacijo za stalno učenje med obravnavano ciljno skupino. Pri tem se je pokazalo, da motivi za učenje v veliki meri izhajajo iz zahtev in pričakovanj družbe po stalnem učenju, kar se najizraziteje kaže pri učenju za področje delovne kariere ter vpliva tudi na občutenje določenega pritiska oziroma obremenitve
