Decent work & vocational training

II.2  Vocational training as an economic instrument

16. But vocational training is not just a right of workers. It is also an important economic instrument which nurtures active employment policies and the strategies of productivity and competitiveness of firms and enterprises. In that perspective, training is a matter of interest for governments and employers.

It is no longer possible to "achieve higher levels of productivity, competitiveness and quality with an approach of limited and confined training"(37). Globalisation, the easy movement of capitals –both financial and fixed assets- and technological progress have increasingly turned qualified manpower into a crucial comparative edge(38). At the same time, as a result of technological progress, the most profitable and enduring kind of competitiveness is achieved through quality and value added, rather than abatement of costs. It is equally obvious that quality and added value also require trained manpower and full use of all human capital, which includes men and women. For that reason there is a close relationship between adequate personnel management, the strengthening of corporate competitiveness and equality of treatment and labour opportunities.

In addition, it is quite obvious that the productivity of a properly trained worker will be much higher that that of an unskilled one.

For tat reason, the Resolution on Development of human resources of 2000 declares in paragraph 11 that "the cost of education and training should be considered to be an investment" Shortly before that, the ILO Director General had said at the World Trade Organisation that "the application of judicious social policies, with investment in the development of human resources, brings along great benefits, not only social but also economic benefits".(39)

In the particular case of underdeveloped countries, the competitive advantage of having qualified manpower also depends on the countries’ capacity to retain the persons they have trained and give them adequate employment in productive activities. Otherwise, the effort made will be useless and frustrating, producing enlightened unemployment, underemployment and emigration (40). We find here another strong link with decent work. It is necessary to train, but for that investment to be economically profitable, decent jobs must be provided.

17. Apart from that, vocational training is an important employability factor. Although it does not by itself generate jobs, it greatly helps individuals to compete for available work posts, or to keep whatever employment they have(41). In that respect, advantages are shared by workers and employers. The latter will have workers with initiative, polyfunctional or that way inclined, with an active and competitive attitude; by the same token employees will be able to adapt to change and in a better position to keep their jobs.

Training is therefore a necessary part of all employment policies aiming at employability in a decent job. The higher a worker’s qualifications, the greater his employability in a decent job. From this angle, vocational training also promotes the attainment of the ‘decent work’ goal.

It also works the other way round. Whilst training has a positive effect on decent work, the latter for its part fosters improved training. In effect, skills and abilities are developed to a great extent at work, for which reason ‘decent work’ provides an adequate environment for training, further training and updating. In that connection ongoing or lifelong training has a leading role. Consequently, in the same manner as training is a prerequisite for decent work, decent work ensures lifelong education. At this point new rights come on the scene – once again – that make training at work viable: they are, specially, time off for attending courses and children’s care facilities.

A two way dialectic relationship exists between vocational training and decent work. On the one hand, training is a precondition and constituent of decent work, and on the other, decent work provides an adequate environment for implementing certain kinds of training that are increasingly necessary and important, as we shall see in a moment.

18. The fundamental incidence of knowledge on development is nowadays an accepted fact. Economies are no longer based only on the accumulation of capital and labour forces; knowledge and information are also increasingly needed. Research brings forth technological and productive innovations. Knowledge has come to be the foundation of man’s work and one more factor in production. We nowadays talk about the advent of a society of knowledge, in which access to know-how and information is just as important as access to capital was in the industrial society. Consequently, education plays an ever more significant role.

Simultaneously, technological development and in particular the growth of information science, have brought about other important changes in economics and labour. The latest ILO Report on Employment in the World(42), recalls that the technology of communications and information (TCI) could imply one of the greatest economic and social risks faced by our societies.

Therefore, the need to invest in training is becoming more pressing, and if lifelong education already was a prerequisite for employability, it is even more so in the digital age. For new jobs in TCI to be decent more training is needed, in particular more ongoing training.(43)

 

37. ILO, Decent jobs and protection for all.. .cit. p.38..
38. REICH, Robert, The Work of Nations, special translation, Buenos Aires 1993, pp. 13,18,83-84,139, and 256 to 259.
39. SOMAVÍA, Juan, Decent jobs for all... cit.
40. MORDELKI, Daniel, Hoy, dentro de quince años, in "Bitácora", supplement of the daily "La República".Montevideo 24 XII, p. 16.
41. Cf. paras. 1 and 2 of Resolution 2000 on Development of human resources and ERMIDA URIARTE, Oscar and ROSENBAUM RÍMOLO, Jorge, Formacón profesional en la negociación colectiva, Cinterfor/OIT. Montevideo 1998, pp. 13-14.
42. ILO, Employment in the World, 2001. Life at work and the economics of information, Geneva 2001.
43. Cf. also ILO, Globalising Europe.... cit. p. 14.

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