Lifelong Learning in the New Economy: A Great Leap Backwards
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.21225/D5D60WRésumé
This article looks at a 1994 Jobs Study report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that presents a disturbing economic development strategy for use by its member countries. The report calls for the creation of two distinct streams of jobs: high-skill jobs that would have high-knowledge requirements; and low-skill, low-wage jobs that would absorb significant numbers of unemployed workers and for which the report advocates regressive ways to ensure workers are desperate enough to take the low-wage jobs. The concept of "lifelong learning" is central to the process of increasing the skills of those in the high-wage jobs, although it is seen solely as an investment in business and in the economies of OECD member countries. This article raises questions about the direction advocated in the report and explores some of the OECD strategies that have been adopted in Canada under the guise of "structural adjustment." The implications of this direction for university continuing education practice are examined and a social policy role for university continuing educators to play to address the issues of work and learning is discussed.Téléchargements
Publié-e
Numéro
Rubrique
Licence
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).