Chapter 10 - Training and Work: Myths about Human Capital

Human capital is defined in the text as “those abilities and information that have economic value”.

These are the 7 myths about human capital:

1. Human capital is an investment for the future.
The problem with this assumption is the difficulty in forecasting future labour needs.

2. More training leads to better work skills

The modern workplace is evolving so that the generic skills and competencies required by employers are changing
all the time. Since the dawn of the industrial revolution, these needs have evolved from “experience based, to
cognitive based, and now to cultural/affective based competencies. In other words, employers want to hire people
with a good attitude and a strong work ethic, which can't necessarily be taught in a classroom.

3. Educational institutions play a central role in the development of human capital.

Job responsibilities, and the tools required to complete them, change rapidly in today's workplace. What a student
learns in an educational institution may become obsolete during an employee's tenure. Self directed, autonomous
learning is becoming the favoured solution to this problem. The author argues that educational institutions should
shift their focus “from being dispensers of knowledge to become places where people learn how to negotiate the
paths of fluidly changing information and meaning.”

4. Employees need to improve their skills

This myth underscores the unpredictability of the modern economy. Certain skills are not necessary for modern
workers to learn, and teaching them may in fact waste time and resources. The example cited in the text is that of
computer programming language being taught in schools during the 1990s. The assumption was that everybody in
the future would need to be able to write code. Of course, that hasn't happened. Computers are more user friendly
than ever, and the tech sector, while vital to the economy, doesn't provide a lot of new jobs.

5. Training enhances employability

This is another tenet of the human capital theory that is being challenged by the forward march of technology. It
seems that the areas which are experiencing the most significant workforce growth are those with no, or very little
training requirements.

6. Training can compensate for skill shortages

The chapter cites three reasons why this assumption may be wrong. First is labour dynamics. Current labour market
demographics mean that fewer youths are entering the labour market. Second is discrimination during the hiring
process. Certain people will not get hired, regardless of skills or training received, because of discrimination on the
part of the employer. Third is employee self selection, the idea that people may not think that they are “cut out” for a
job based on what those in their peer group are doing. It is a kind of self discrimination.

7. Employment and Unemployment are economic concepts

Employment and unemployment are directly affected by social factors. Economics alone cannot explain the
fluctuations in the supply and demand of employment.

There needs to be a critical analysis of the “more is better” philisophy towards training and education. The
focus should quality not quantity. Sociologists Pierre Bourdieu and Bowles and Gintis have pointed out that
education, historically, was a tool to maintain the status quo. Those who could afford it got high paying jobs, which
paid for their children to get educated and acquire high paying jobs themselves. Presenting education as the means to
socioeconomic climbing allows the ruling class to control access to the different levels of the economic ladder.
The chapter conclude by speaking on the role of adult educators. First, we must always be mindful that our
responsibility is to the learner. We should focus on their development and try to make them aware of the
contradictions and potential for exploitation inherent in the system. Second, we should be engaged and
communicating with both the employees and employers in the organizations we are teaching in. Third, we need to
be cognisant of the values we are imparting on our students. As adult educators we have the power to impress our
values upon our students. We need to be fully aware of this, and use this power responibly.