Solving the Training Divide

The information society is all very well, but the trouble is ensuring everyone can be trained up for it, especially those who need it most. Countries still do not appear to invest enough in the education of under-skilled adults, although the extent of the problem is difficult to quantify and may be eased somewhat by the presence of informal training. Still, more needs to be done to encourage a more efficient sharing of the costs and benefits of training between employers and employees, thereby increasing the incentives to invest in human capital. Another, more intractable problem, is how to get training to those who need it most. As it is, vulnerable workers have fewer opportunities to acquire new skills. For this reason, some countries are experimenting with co-financing policies for individual investments in human capital, to help workers pay for training themselves when they are not supported by their employer. Despite these measures, without support from their employer, individuals often find training courses unaffordable, not only because of their direct costs but also because of time constraints