.... Mobilising Human Resources for Innovation
The move towards the knowledge-based economy has placed human
capital in science and technology at the forefront of the
policy debate across OECD countries, not just in the area of
education and labour markets but also in science, technology
and innovation policy.
Technological change is driving demand for skilled labour
and spurring an upgrading of skills across economies. This
increase in demand is not being met equally in OECD countries;
reports of shortages for certain types of S&T personnel
including IT workers, suggest inadequacies in supply systems or
barriers to the effective matching of supply and demand.
Despite the increase in higher education graduates across
the OECD, the share of university graduates in science and
technology compared to other fields remains quite low in many
countries – and has even tended to fall in some
cases. This waning interest in science and technology among
youth, combined with low participation of women in S&T
education and employment, pose further challenges to the
ability of OECD governments to bridge the skills gap.
There is also global dimension to the demand for high
skilled personnel and access to international sources of
S&T personnel is becoming more important for meeting
specific skill requirements. While there is little evidence of
a significant brain drain from other OECD countries to the
United States, the openness of higher education and research
systems as well as an environment conducive to research and
innovation appear important in attracting top foreign talent.
In the longer-term, meeting demand for high skilled workers
will require sustained investments in S&T education, not
just in compulsory education but also on-job training and
life-long learning. Improving the adaptability of the public
research sector to changes in research and employment is also
important.
In all these areas, governments must increasingly partner with
industry, social partners and civil society if they are to
provide workers with the right S&T skills for the
knowledge-based economy.
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