Unit 2
The Context for Training

Overview

This unit delves deeper into the issues and debates related to the “why” of training in Canada and is framed within the notion that training is contested terrain. The unit begins with a discussion of productivity and human capital, followed by an examination of skills-related issues such as technological change, the knowledge economy, multiskilling and deskilling, and the relationship of immigration/emigration to skills shortages and surpluses. Each of these issues is examined from the perspectives and value systems introduced in the previous unit. Unit 2 concludes by questioning the notion that training is the ultimate answer to the challenges presented in the labour market.

Unit Objectives

After completing this unit, you should be able to

1. differentiate between the motivations of the various labour market stakeholders for acquiring skills and undertaking training.
2. explain the relationship between productivity, human capital, and skills development.
3. compare the advantages and disadvantages of using immigration or methods other than training to address skills shortages.
4. define multiskilling, deskilling, and technological change, and give reasons why unions and employers might differ in their interpretation of how each of these factors impacts the workplace.
5. explain why labour market analysts may be skeptical when training is suggested as the solution to the problems in the labour market.