Human Capital Development

Response to the Business Council on National Issues statement on competitiveness, arguing that quality workplaces are critical to this agenda.

The people rhetoric of the ‘Alberta Advantage’ is weak in practice. Needed is a more human resource-intensive economic developement strategy in the province of Alberta. This means creating workplaces where learning, innovation and skill can more fully contribute to productivity and competitiveness.

The litmus test for a “knowledge economy” is how well students make the school to work transition. Even if schools, technical institutes, colleges and universities meet rigorous standards of excellence fulfilling their mandates – as many do – there is clear evidence that employers are underutilizing the “human capital” embodied in these grads as they […]

Adults with limited literacy skills have long been a cause for concern since such individuals have difficulty coping in a complex society. However, the focus of debate regarding the adult literacy "problem" has shifted as concerns about national economic competitiveness have come to dominate public policy discussions. Thus, literacy has become a central human resource […]