In conditions of globalization and the development of information and technology the role of lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important for every individual and community well-being. Every year the need for high quality, accessible and diverse life-long learning is increasing. Lifelong learning includes education throughout the lifetime. In European countries this process started in the second half of the 20th century when number of challenges in adult education were raised that needed to be solved. The implementation of lifelong learning is carried out by different institutions. There are different models for the implementation of lifelong learning in Latvia- through professional secondary schools, vocational education, higher education institutions, private training centres, popular schools and municipal adult education centres. An important drawback - the absence of coordination between the programs (courses) in implementation, lack of unified quality criteria that is a key issue in a competitive environment. Authors believe that higher education institutions need to be involved in the realization of this process. Authors of the article analyse the role of universities in lifelong learning processes, as well as the situation where the demographic situation influence the number of students in higher education institutions – it decreases, thus the question arises - how to make a better use of available resources (facilities, technology, libraries, educators). The article analyses the world development trends of lifelong learning, the labour market supply and demand and the current situation in universities in Latvia. Qualitative analyses method was use in the research.