Learning and Training for Work in the Knowledge Society - Chapter II. Major Principles Underlying Contemporary Human Resources Development and Training Policies, Laws and Practices

Chapter II. Major Principles Underlying Contemporary Human Resources Development and Training Policies, Laws and Practices

Levels of economic, social and institutional development differ widely between countries. Similarly, human resources development and training, and the underpinning institutional framework, have evolved in different ways. Witness the dual training system in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, based on their historically strong employer and enterprise engagement in education and training. In contrast, school-based systems have been the hallmark of developments in, for example Finland, France, Sweden, the former centrally-planned economies and many developing countries.

Notwithstanding differences between countries - be they in terms of economic and social development, culture, the role of the State, private versus public financing and other differences - a set of common principles can be identified that should underpin countries' efforts in developing learning, training and human resources development policies and systems. These common principles are already - either entirely or partly - endorsed in many countries' legislation and practice. They have also been confirmed by various international and regional institutions, for example the ILO (in particular, the Conclusions), the European Union, the Group of eight major industrial countries, OECD and others. This report identifies five major principles that underlie contemporary policies, laws and practices in the area of human resources development and training. They are:

A. Investment in Human Resources Development and Training: The Necessary Economic, Social and Institutional Environment

An overall target to invest in education and training had been put at 6 per cent of GNP¹. However, education and training cannot alone address the challenges that countries face in the wake of globalization and the move towards a knowledge and skills based society. Although fundamental, they "are by themselves insufficient to ensure sustainable economic and social development, or resolve the aggregate employment challenge. They should be coherent and form an integrated part of comprehensive economic, labour market and social policies and programmes that promote economic and employment growth. Policies that expand aggregate demand in the economy such as macroeconomic and other measures must be combined with supply side policies, e.g. science and technology, education and training, and industrial and enterprise policies. Appropriate fiscal policies, social security and collective bargaining are among the means to distribute these economic gains on a fair and equitable basis, and constitute basic incentives to invest in training" (Conclusions, para. 4).

1. Macro-economic, Fiscal and Other Policies in Support of Education and Training for Economic and Social Development

Various combinations of economic (e.g. macro-economic, fiscal, trade and technology policies), labour market and social policies can encourage investment in education and training. They can be applied at macro level to boost investment in human and physical capital across the board in the economy. In one example, macro-economic and political stability, and investment-friendly economic policies, combined with targeted education and training, have promoted harmonious economic and social development. In another example, lack of investment in human and physical capital produced a downward spiral of little productivity and job growth, economic stagnation and low incomes. Synergies of policies, including education and training, can also be applied to target a particular economic sector, for example the ICT sector. The case of Malaysia is given below. Active social and labour market policies, including education and training, can also be effective in reducing unemployment and promoting social inclusion among the beneficiaries.

In a virtuous circle of investment in human and economic development, Asian "tigers", like the Republic of Korea and Singapore and also countries like Malaysia, Mauritius and Ireland have combined carefully targeted investment in their human resources with investment in physical capital and industries. This approach has led to sustained, high economic and income growth. To give an example, Singapore was able to mould its national human resource policy to provide the needed skills for each phase of development. A standardized education system provided the science, maths, and technical education needed for the first import substitution phase, and fostered ethnic roots and values by focussing on basic literacy, domestic languages and English. The next, export-industrialization, phase attracted foreign investment by means of tax, profit repatriation and training policies. Local training institutions focused on technical skills, measures that were complemented by technology transfers from institutions in the advanced countries. Foreign corporations were provided finance and infrastructure to set up training programmes, resulting in a large increase in technical education. The country then moved into higher value-added production. Training subsidies and grants encouraged foreign companies to train their workers. Education reform that emphasized technical and vocational education was buttressed by expanding universities and polytechnics. In the future, efforts to make the country a leading knowledge based economy will demand new learning and training approaches that encourage workers to be innovative and creative.

Singapore's astute, and mutually supportive, economic, HRD and training polices contrast with those of many Sub-Saharan African countries. There, in a vicious circle, macro-economic and political instability (and civil conflict), led to less investment and less accumulation of physical and human capital than elsewhere. While all other major regions saw primary and secondary school enrollments increase, in Sub-Saharan Africa primary school enrolments declined from 59 per cent in 1980 to 51 per cent in 1992². (See World Bank: Education Sector Strategy) With declining output per worker, economic stagnation and no employment growth, incomes and living conditions plummeted³. (See ILO: African Employment Report) Recently, however, investments in education and training have been maintained and even increased in many African countries.

Fiscal policies are commonly applied to promote investment in education and training by enterprises and individuals. A typical example is Chile where enterprises are allowed to deduct from their annual taxable income costs incurred in training staff, up to a maximum of one per cent of their total payroll value (Law 19.518; 14/19/1997). The training plans are discussed and approved by a bipartite enterprise committee, a necessary condition for tax deduction. The scheme is administered by SENCE (Servicio Nacional de Capacitación y Empleo). In the Netherlands, fiscal policies target both individuals and enterprises. The former can deduct from their taxable income up to €15,000 annually for courses that improve their employability in present or future jobs. Employers can deduct 120 per cent from their taxable income or 140 per cent, when training targets low-skilled workers, older workers (> 40 years) or workers in small enterprises. Also, all apprentices receive a tax incentive of some €2,500 for participation in courses of initial vocational education. Both, the government and the social partners agree that the fiscal regime has benefited particularly the above mentioned target groups.

Malaysia, pursuing investment and trade-led growth policies, has seen substantial increases in investment, which have made it a leading exporter of electronics. However, in a world of rapid ICT developments, and greater reliance on knowledge for creating value, this investment strategy is no longer considered effective for achieving sustainable growth. Creating "innovative ideas and knowledge, arising from significant investment in research and development which can be commercialized" is the new strategy. The country has developed a National Information and Communications Technology Framework. This approach includes three strategic elements, namely people (human resources development), infrastructure (both hard and soft infrastructure) and applications and contents that are demand driven, while following the principle that all citizens need equitable access to information. The human resources development element consists of a variety of measures, e.g. the Computer-in Education programme to provide digital literacy in schools; new teaching methods and curricula, including distance learning; digital literacy programmes that target non-mainstream schools; and teachers' training. The Demonstrator Applications Grant Scheme finances grassroot initiatives to familiarize Malaysians with the Internet and its usefulness for knowledge acquisition and learning. The scheme encourages access to internet kiosks and seeks to raise awareness among diverse audiences: for example the poor, orphans and paddy farmers in rural communities⁴.

Many countries pursue active social and labour market policies in order to give people a "second chance" in employment after having dropped out of the labour force, or help them return to work after periods of unemployment. Increasingly, labour market training offers - within the context of lifelong learning - opportunities for skills upgrading, retraining and knowledge development. Such learning helps individuals access new jobs and also cope with changes in the knowledge and information economy and society. Also, it assists in integrating people into mainstream economic life and combats social exclusion. Active labour market policies have a long tradition in countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Germany and are today more or less systematically pursued in all EU countries. They are also being applied in many transition economies as they address the rise in unemployment, resulting from economic restructuring and market-based economic reforms. In East Asia, active measures have played a relatively minor role. However, the financial crisis and the rise in unemployment in the late 1990s suggested that these countries also need to consider active labour market policies in order to respond better to future crisis and meet the long term requirements of development⁵. (See Betcherman, G. & Islam, R: Active Labour Market Policies: Issues for East Asia)

Active labour market measures tend to increase when unemployment rises. Training and retraining programmes generally account for a significant share of expenditures on active labour market initiatives, i.e. between 40 and 60 per cent, and over 75 per cent in Denmark. Active labour market policies and measures include job-search assistance and employment services, training for the long-term unemployed; retraining workers displaced in mass lay-offs; employment and wage subsidies; and public works programmes. They generally target population groups that are disadvantaged in the labour market, e.g. women, young people, the unemployed, migrants, laid-off workers and workers who run the risk of being laid-off as a result of enterprise restructuring and technological change.

Evaluations (see Chapter IV, C) suggest that active labour market measures are likely to be most effective in (re)integrating people into employment when they are given a package of mutually supportive services that may include remedial education, job training, job search assistance and direct provision of work experience. A first important requirement for success is that the demand for labour is buoyant. Little success can be expected when there is no (net) job creation. Macroeconomic and microeconomic policies are important factors in improving job prospects because they affect labour demand and supply.

The experience of many countries, for example Australia, Denmark and South Africa, shows that new approaches to human resources development and training must be based on sound institutions, without which learning and training investments run the risk of being ineffective and lacking impact. Ultimately, the task of these institutions is to develop a common culture of learning and training between all the parties concerned - government, social partners, enterprises, individuals and civil society. Essential elements of an institutional framework for human resources development and training are the following:

The absence of meaningful social dialogue hinders the development of effective and equitable policies for achieving broad-based social progress⁶. As recently observed in many of the ILO's Country Employment Policy Reviews, social dialogue is essential for formulating sound employment policies and for mobilizing the broad support in society that is necessary for their successful implementation. Workers' and employers' representatives can offer invaluable support in areas such as work safety, job training and skills development. Dialogue creates incentives for employers' associations, trade unions and educators to use their influence in joint regulatory bodies to expand employer training beyond that provided by individual employers. Also, it increases the commitment, particularly of employers, to training goals, which otherwise may be evaded if a purely administrative approach is taken⁷.

The Conclusions provide ILO's constituents with an ambitious agenda for social dialogue on education and training. "The social partners should strengthen social dialogue on training, share responsibility in formulating education and training policies, and engage in partnerships with each other or with governments for investing in, planning and implementing training. In training, networks of cooperation also include regional and local government, various ministries, sector and professional bodies, training institutions and providers, non-governmental organizations, etc. Government should establish a framework for effective social dialogue and partnerships in training and employment. This should result in a coordinated education and training policy at national level, and long-term strategies, which are formulated in consultation with the social partners and are integrated with economic and employment policies. It should also include tripartite, national and sector training arrangements, and provide for a transparent and comprehensive training and labour market information system. Enterprises are primarily responsible for training their employees and apprentices, but also share responsibility in initial vocational training of young people to meet their future needs".

The experience of Germany and the Scandinavian countries suggests that tripartite and bi-partite dialogue, negotiation and agreement on social issues have been decisive in building up effective training and learning partnerships. In Latin America, collective agreements that include provisions for learning and training of workers, are increasingly codified in legislation that cover labour matters in a comprehensive manner. European countries commonly recognize collective bargaining legally. The collective agreements that are the outcome of the bargaining process subsequently take the force of laws. They are negotiated at the national, sectoral, branch and enterprise levels. Many countries have seen the need for legislation that, whilst national, gives flexibility at the regional and provincial level and allows for greater private sector influence in policy implementation. Recent legislative trends, for example in Australia, Egypt, Fiji, Ireland, Malta, Mauritius and Portugal, suggest that promulgated legislation is less concerned with finite detail and more with promoting the involvement of the social partners and other stakeholder at all levels of the community.

Social dialogue on economic and labour matters commonly takes place in national bodies that comprise representatives of the State, social partners and also representatives of civil society. South Africa's National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC), the Economic and Human Resources Development Council in Mauritius and the Economic Development Board in Singapore are examples of such high-powered fora for social dialogue that also touches upon education and training. These bodies give the broad policy orientations for national economic, social and labour policies. National training boards are often members of these top level councils. Tripartite national training boards formulate training policies and define training programmes' content and orientation. They are responsible for training system management and determine modes and criteria for financing of training. Boards operating at the sector or industry branch level are generally bi-partite.

Training provisions are commonly moving away from state-controlled, centralized and supply driven delivery towards a diversified, flexible system of public and private institutions and enterprise-based supply. The rationale for the policies that underlie these trends are several. One is the endeavour to make training supply respond better to economic and social needs and make it more flexible in the face of rapid demand shifts. Also, there is the intent to increase efficiency in training, i.e. by cutting training costs and by encouraging competition between training providers. Another source of diversification is the growth of "non-standard" and informal activities as a major source of employment growth in many countries, particularly in the developing world. In Latin America, growing economic participation by women, in particular, has given a boost to more diversified course offerings by existing institutions and has led to a proliferation of new training providers⁸.

So-called "quasi-markets" in training are growing, spurred by governments' efforts to diversify training supply, increase competition and develop veritable training markets, while endeavouring to protect individuals from high prices and malpractice. Whereas on the demand side, governments continue to set priorities and finance training, independent organizations - public and private training providers - contract with government agencies to provide specified training services. Already in the 1980s, Sweden opened up the market for labour market training to private providers and invited them to compete for public tenders. Quasi-markets are commonly used in the United Kingdom and in the United States. Publicly sponsored training is delivered through a variety of providers. These may include community and further education colleges, non-profit organizations, charities and (for-profit) private training companies. Australia has introduced competitive bidding among training providers, including the public Technical and Further Education Colleges (TAFEs), the major vehicle for post-compulsory vocational education in the country.

Diversification of training provision has much to do with the incentives, including clear and transparent legislation, that encourage private providers to offer training services. Legislative reform in Chile in 1989 on private training companies resulted in rapid growth of private supply of post-secondary training opportunities in universities, professional institutes and training centres⁹. (See Gill, Fluitman, Dar: Vocational Education and Training Reform: Matching Skills to Markets and Budgets) In South Africa, private training is expected to play an important role in expanding access to further education and training, in particular by responding to labour market opportunities and learner demand. The key challenge is "to create an environment that neither suffocates educationally sound and sustainable institutions with state over-regulation, nor allows a plethora of poor quality, unsustainable "fly-by-night" operators into the training market"¹⁰. (See Government of South Africa: Education White Paper No. 4 - A Programme for the Transformation of Further Education and Training) Therefore, the country's Further Education and Training Act, 1998, endeavours to ensure that only private institutions with the necessary infrastructure and resources to provide and sustain quality training will be registered and accredited. According to the World Bank however, experiences in Chile, the Czech Republic and Russia suggest that national accreditation systems - intended to inform people about the quality of training - may neither be necessary nor sufficient for a balanced system of privately provided training. In fact, they may rule out innovative and non-conforming training providers and discourage a vigorous training market¹¹.

3. Decentralization of Decision-making on Training Policies and Strategies to Regional and Local Levels

Social dialogue and partnership in training typically involve significant elements of decentralization, in both policy formulation and implementation. The rationale for decentralizing decisions on training is that these are best done at the regional, local and sectoral levels, close to economic demand and social needs. For example, decisions on training in say a booming area of economic growth, will differ greatly from those where de-industrialization and job loss are prevalent. Such differences can be accommodated by devolving training decisions closer to local realities. Institutions and local organizations are given local autonomy, and, most importantly, accountability, within a framework of national policy, priorities and targets. Greater innovation is likely to follow when local initiatives can be harnessed effectively. However, devolution can impair the attainment of national objectives by allowing local actors to pursue their own (parochial) agendas. Devolution is not an easy process. Vested interests among those with central decision-making power may need to be overcome. Local bodies will need the necessary resources, both human and financial, to be able to execute adequately their newly acquired functions and responsibilities. Notwithstanding these possible drawbacks, devolution of decision-making on training is a common trend in most countries.

The United States offer perhaps the best example of a decentralized, loosely coordinated, locally administered and strongly market-driven approach that is responsive to local training needs. Local training networks, based on a complex set of relationships between training providers and enterprises, are able to secure training services and funds, and also influence policy decisions¹². Nevertheless, the role of the Federal Government remains important as it provides fiscal incentives for initiating such local capacity building.

In the Philippines, the national Technical Education and Skills Development Authority's (TESDA) centralized functions - e.g. planning, setting of standards, monitoring and evaluation - are balanced by decentralization of decision-making and training functions. TESDA (TESDA Act, 1994, Section 29) is expected to formulate, implement and finance specific plans to develop the capability of local government to assume the responsibility for promoting community-based technical education and skills development. Similarly in Indonesia, planning and implementing skills training programmes, previously a function of the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, have been devolved to provincial and district levels (Law 22,1999). Recently, the Governor of East Java identified key training issues that demand action at the provincial level, including development of skills for income generation activities and retraining of laid-off workers. These issues are being addressed, with support from the ILO, jointly by the provincial government, the province's Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other provincial and local partners.

Ensuring "lifelong learning for all" remains a goal that no country so far has achieved. Fig 2.1 illustrates participation in formal education and adult education and training over the life-span in 18 OECD countries. It suggests that, at best, less than half of the adult population in these countries participated in some form of formal education or training in 1998.

Integrating lifelong learning into the institutional framework for human resources development demands a resolution of the following major issues:

Labour market information is an important resource to guide collective and individual investment in building up individuals' employability and a competitive, flexible workforce. Quality, timeliness and careful targeting on client groups are hallmarks of effective labour market information systems. Career guidance and counselling is becoming an essential element of the learning process. Openness to lifelong learning, increased personal responsibility, flexibility and adaptability, although important at every stage of a career, are now essential attributes for graduates and entry level workers. New labour market entrants, seasoned workers, the unemployed, etc., need assistance in making informed decisions about ways and means to gain and maintain skills and employment. They can also be helped with skills assessments. In France, - the bilan des compétences is now a common practice. There is an unprecedented demand for career development services to assist in managing change effectively.

Knowledge and skills are increasingly important as the source of competitiveness in markets characterized by rapid change due to globalization and technological advances. Those with low skill levels, outdated skills or no employable skills are more and more likely to be excluded from the labour market. Disadvantaged groups are also excluded from opportunities that are central to participation in the social, political and cultural life of society, as a result of their limited access to education, skills training, health care and employment. Their exclusion incurs high costs on social security systems and society in general. Also, the opportunity cost to national economies of having so many inactive people is substantial. This deflationary effect is estimated at billions of dollars globally¹⁴.

Motivated by these concerns, governments throughout the world are taking action to promote access of these groups to education, training and skills development in different ways. Women in general, young workers, long-term unemployed, older displaced workers, workers with disabilities are among those specifically targeted by many government training and employment support programmes. Such programmes set out to ensure that people have access to training, which is relevant to labour market opportunities. They include off-the-job classroom based training, or on-the-job training during a work placement, or both in combination.

Work experience and on-the job-training provide an opportunity for trainees to demonstrate their abilities to employers. In the case of people with disabilities, on-the-job training, provided as part of a supported job placement, has been effective in securing placement of the person on completion of training. This option is now favoured in Australia, the United States and Canada and is receiving increased attention in European countries¹⁵. (See Lunt, N. and Thornton, P.: Employment Policies for Disabled People. A Review) The issue of how on-the-job training may be satisfactorily accredited and certified has yet to be resolved.

Training programmes for disadvantaged groups, including the poor, have been successful in improving skill levels and employability. This has particularly been the case when training is oriented to market opportunities and is provided as part of an integrated and targeted set of measures to promote labour market inclusion of such groups, rather than as a stand-alone programme. Job search training, vocational guidance and counseling, and remedial basic education, combined with training in specific skills, can improve prospects of finding a job.

In addition to remedial programmes, many governments have introduced measures to improve the relevance, flexibility, accessibility and reach of the mainstream training system. These measures endeavour to ensure that marginalization of disadvantaged groups is minimized in the long-term. Hence, they reduce the need for special measures. The introduction of competency-based training, involving the recognition of knowledge and skills acquired through practical experience is likely to improve access to further training of people who learned informally through practical work.

Given the current trend towards market-driven training systems and towards workplace-based training, which tends to benefit those already employed, state intervention will continue to be essential to ensure access for all. A variety of policy and programme measures will be required to encourage training providers to take the constraints and requirements of disadvantaged groups into account in reviewing existing training and skills development services, and in designing new ones.

A fourth major principle, underlying recent developments, is the increasing use of partnership approaches in training. Partnerships are established at the policy-making level through various forms of social dialogue, collective bargaining and tri- and bipartite agreements on training. Also, actual training is commonly provided today in partnerships between a wide range of institutions, bodies and stakeholders. These include, for example: partnerships between employers and trade unions, between enterprises at the sector and branch level, between small and medium-sized enterprises, and partnerships established between a wide range of local and area institutions and stakeholders.

Partnership approaches to training have grown as the pressures of rapid change call for programmes that are current and aligned with the needs of industry and individuals. The private sector has often been the initiator of partnerships with training institutions, local governments, development agencies and others. Trade unions have recognized the importance of upgrading skills for maintaining employability and have become involved in the process of managing change. Technical assistance providers, including the ILO, have become aware of the need to consider training as part of a broader integrated approach to developing competitive enterprises and promoting equity in employment and decent work. Awareness of the systemic nature of change has encouraged coordinated network and partnership approaches amongst key actors, often facilitated or brokered by intermediary institutions such as development agencies.

The fifth major principle - and also paradigm shift - in human resources development and training is the use by more and more people, institutions and programmes of learner-centred education and training strategies and methods, primarily by using ICT. These technologies can also expand access of hitherto deprived population groups to opportunities for education and training.

As the amount of information available expands at an unprecedented pace, the onus of selecting, using and transforming information for knowledge creation is increasingly put on the individual. He or she is expected to organize his/her own learning. Rather than being a passive recipient of information, the individual must actively, and interactively, participate in the learning process. Teachers and trainers are no longer expected to instruct and pass on information. Instead, they are becoming facilitators, mentors and coaches that remove the roadblocks to the learner's acquisition of knowledge. Hence, learning-to learn and knowledge creation become the central skills taught at school and harnessed at the workplace. Being accessible to rapidly growing numbers of people, information and communication technologies (ICT) are more and more used for such learner-centred strategies. Indeed, across countries and professional disciplines - a considerable number of skilled workers- so far mostly in the ICT related professions - teach themselves, or combine some formal training with self-learning.

Enterprises have pioneered the use of computers and ICT, first in production, management and communications, and then in providing opportunities of staff learning and training. In fact, e-learning in the workplace is the fastest expanding area of learning, education and training today. In the United States, the market for online learning is estimated to jump from $550 million in 1998 to $11.4 billion in 2003. Typically a large company makes available an array of education and training programmes on the desktop computers of thousands of their employees, often dispersed across the globe, via their Intranet or through the Internet. Employees have instant access to learning resources, in the workplace, and more and more at home, and can choose and pace their learning according to their needs, work schedules and family responsibilities. Box 2.1 illustrates how workplace based learning, using ICT, can save training time and costs, and improve productivity.

Box 2.1 Corporate online learning: saving time and costs

Siemens Information Networks Inc. (United States) needed to train at short notice 600 high-level engineers on data/voice convergence technology. Traditional classroom training would have taken three years to reach all 600 engineers and would have cost some US$ 4 million in lost travel and production time, in addition to the direct training costs. At a cost of only US$ 75,000 for hardware and learning software - and an additional charge of US$ 1,500 for 100 classroom seats - the company was able to create interactive online classes via the company's Intranet. Over time the course evolved from being merely cost-effective to improving productivity, raising the company's market share and generating high rates of return. At present, Siemens' voice data course is one of 64 online classes offered to 7,500 employees.

Source: K. Friewick: "The online option", in CFO Magazine, December 1999.

In addition to their penetration in the workplace, ICT and e-learning are also making in-roads in schools, colleges, community centres, training institutions and universities. As ICT and Internet applications in education and training proliferate, they are increasingly used in combination, or "blended" with other more traditional learning and training methods, like classroom teaching. Blending can overcome the often observed sense of isolation and lack of human contact that pure ICT-based learning imposes. At Xerox, an office equipment manufacturer, half of all learning programmes are delivered through electronic means, but are supplemented by classroom-based, student-trainer approaches. The Virtual University of the Monterey Institute of Technology in Mexico exploits a variety of teaching and learning methods for its 40,000 students: printed material, live and pre-recorded television and computer facilitated interaction between teaching staff and students.

The EU financed Socrates basic skills project, led by the Lewisham College (U.K.) and with partners in Austria, Finland and Portugal, helps young learners who have difficulty learning by conventional teaching methods develop basic literacy skills. Initial findings suggest that the CD-ROM developed for the purpose needs to be accompanied by high quality learning materials. These could help structure the activities of the student. Guidelines are being prepared for developing learning materials to accompany selected CD-ROM based multimedia resources. Teachers are also assisted in using such resources in order to improve the students' learning outcomes.

Distance learning programmes that exploit ICT are expanding at a rapid pace. As the costs of new technologies plummet, traditional distance learning tools (e.g. correspondence, radio) are being supplemented or even replaced by ICT-based technologies. Eleven mega learning institutions (in China, France, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Turkey and U.K.) enroll altogether 2.8 million students and provide distance learning programmes at an average yearly cost of $350. The figure compares with the average cost of $12.500 per student per year for college and university students in the United States¹⁶.

Distance learning may increase access of disadvantaged groups to learning opportunities. Physically disabled people who cannot attend training programmes in an institution for lack of mobility and transport or because costs are prohibitive can, with the help of a computer, access Internet-based learning programmes at home. In Portugal, the THINK project illustrates an innovative use of telework for creating new opportunities for disabled people. A training package has been developed that prepares teleworkers for providing consultancy services, including computer programming, translations, direct marketing, web design, among other services. The project has enabled people with disabilities to become active contributors to society, providing a quality service to customers. Based on its success, the approach will be applied in four other European countries.

People in remote communities are another group that can benefit from the use of ICT in education and training. A classic example is the Telesecundaria programme in Mexico that reaches some 700,000 students in 100,000 small, remote communities endowed with few schools and teachers. The programme uses a powerful satellite to cover vast territory and deliver interactive, dynamic and action-oriented learning content that can be watched live on televison, or recorded on video. Teachers follow a basic teaching schedule, but can adapt the televison programmes to their particular teaching style and learners' needs.

The potential of harnessing ICT in education and training is therefore huge. So are the challenges. A shift from instruction and passing on information to learning and knowledge creation will demand a huge effort of teacher and trainer (re-)training. Ingrained professional and cultural habits and attitudes will have to be overcome; resources need to be invested in new learner-based techniques of education and training; and the ICT infrastructure, including in schools and training institutions, will need strengthening. These are challenges even in the richest countries. They are even more formidable in large parts of the developing world, where communication infrastructure is weak, incomes are low, education systems are resource poor, and teachers lack materials and equipment that could support a shift to learner- and ICT-based education and training. But perhaps the greatest challenge of all is providing basic education to all people, as a prerequisite for accessing the information and knowledge society. As the WER 2001 strongly argues, "digital literacy is essential, but there remains an order of priorities in which literacy and access to basic education of high quality are most fundamental".

EMP/SKILLS - Skills and Employability Department