This article contrasts the view of lifelong learning posed by the human capital discourse with Freire's understanding of education as a lifelong journey toward personal growth and social transformation. Rather than reducing learners to objects of economic globalization, Freire's pedagogy considers students as political participants who actively shape their vocational and social lives. We argue that career education policies and programs should accept Freire's understanding of lifelong learning as a necessary component of human ontology. The article also offers suggestions that career education teachers might employ to counteract the human capital assumptions framing the current discourse on lifelong learning.