HRD is extensively concerned with human capital investment, but only focuses on how skills and knowledge become obsolete to a limited extent. In this paper we look at the speed of obsolescence. Using data from a survey among Dutch public sector employees, we find that the yearly rate of skills obsolescence is 2.6%. Subsequent analyses show that…

Discusses the educational imperatives of current and projected skilled labor needs in Canada and how they should be met. (JOW)

Teacher education institutions need to accept responsibility for helping to keep vocational and technical teachers technically current. The University of Minnesota is helping inservice teachers keep up-to-date in three ways. The largest number of teachers have been served through short technical workshops. The workshops have covered a wide variety…

It has been suggested that older workers may be particuarly vulnerable to the obsolescence process. One definition of obsolescence directly implies that the obsolescence construct is a function of two elements, the job and the person. New technologies, new products, and new methods and procedures can result in job changes which in turn can compel…

Thousands of workers have been dislocated from jobs in the textile and apparel industries as a result of recessions and structural changes in the economy. Because of the large concentrations of female workers in these industries, women have been particularly vulnerable to dislocation. This study examined job dislocation and factors that affect…

The current rate of technological change demands changes in the ways educational administrators are trained. On one hand, administrators need more systematic inservice programs to update their skills and they themselves must provide their staffs improved inservice training. On the other hand, increasing specialization precludes administrators from…

Two myths about high technology are that it will be the primary source of new jobs and that it will vastly upgrade the skill requirements of jobs. Evidence does not support these myths. Most new jobs will not be in high tech fields, and technology will reduce the skill requirements. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that high tech…

Adults must continue to learn. The accelerating pace of cultural change has made today's knowledge and skills tomorrow's obsolescence. A society that makes its educational investment almost entirely in children and youth is on the way to becoming obsolete and is reducing its survival chances. To promote the cause of lifelong learning, we need to…

In his address to the Adult Education Association conference on January 10, 1979, the author reflects on the increasing necessity for adults to continue to learn and the marginal status of adult education. He discusses knowledge and skills obsolescence and indicates concerns for the field of adult education. (MF)

A futurist addresses two questions concerning world peace and the implications of using robots. In the section on peace (part 1), recommendations for world peace include: (1) implementing peace education as a mandatory part of education; (2) establishing a Department of Peace in each country to create a societal infrastructure for implementing…

Undertrained workers, not dislocated workers, are the real problem in the American economy. The vast majority of the workers affected by structural change in the American economy appear to make employment transitions fairly swiftly and smoothly, with no need for public intervention. Undertrained workers, mostly employed and scattered in all…

The way resources are deployed to educate Americans will affect, as never before, productivity, the economy, and the quality of life. To maintain the present standard of living, Americans will be dependent on a continuous infusion of scientific breakthroughs and productivity-enhancing technology. Periodic upgrading of skills will be a necessity…

Despite predictions in the 1950's and 1960's that computer technology would reduce job opportunities by 90%, historical data published by the Department of Labor reveal that total manpower demands accelerated from 1947 through 1977 and were primarily satisfied by a decreased demand for farm laborers, an increase in percentage of women in the…

Technology transfer, that is, the dissemination of the results of research and development to the general community, is discussed in this report in relation to the learning society and the mission of the community college. First, definitions of technology are presented and the rapid pace of technological change worldwide is examined. Then, the…

This description of the Computer-Managed and Aided Instruction (CMAI) Project includes a summary of a December 1989 CMAI planning meeting, the text of a paper presented at the meeting, and descriptions of each of the five phases of the project. The paper, "Programming the Future," by Gerald C. Angove and Scott Smith, discusses: (1) the…