Title: Tripartite Meeting on Lifelong Learning in the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Industries
1Tripartite Meeting on Lifelong Learning in the
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Industries
Geneva, 23 27 September 2002
2Recent developments MEE industries
- Machine tool production is concentrated in
Germany, USA, Japan Italy - 10 countries produce over 80 of the worlds ICT
equipment - US Japan followed by a few Asian
European countries -
- 15 countries have 85 of world exports of office
and telecommunications equipment (OTE)
3Recent developments MEE industries
- Developing countries now account for almost half
of the worlds exports of OTE (47) - Most of these developing countries exports of
OTE originate in EPZs - For many countries OTE accounts for between 25
50 of their exports
4Recent developments MEE industries
- Mobile phones (now call handsets) will soon
outnumber fixed phones - Economic downturn can have disastrous
consequences on small economies whether developed
or developing since they often are dependent on
the exports of one company or one industry (e.g.,
Finland, Costa Rica, Ireland Malta) - Moores law is accelerating - not only are chips
doubling their capacity every 18 months - but,
knowledge is also becoming obsolete just as fast,
if not faster
5ICT Total World Production
6Electronic Data Processing Equipment
7Office Equipment
8Radio Communications Equipment (incl. cell
phones and radar)
9Telecommunications Equipment (fixed phones)
10Consumer Electronics
11Components
12Responses to the challenge of lifelong learning
(just learn.IT)
- Intended job cuts continue to be announced in
these industries, but the implications remain to
be seen since employment growth over the past 5
years has been substantial - RD spending is a proxy indicator for new skill
requirements - Many large corporations have in-house
universities or learning centres (often combined
with distance learning) -
- learning is best _at_ the workplace
13(No Transcript)
14Responses to the challenge of lifelong learning
(just learn.IT)
- Developing countries without Internet connections
and reliable electricity supply cannot fully
participate in this new trend - demand-driven training
- Universities Colleges are conducting tailor
made courses on the shop-floor - While learning may be lifelong, professional
certification certainly is not !
15Responses to the challenge of lifelong learning
(just learn.IT)
- Answers are still required
- How to develop an educational system to turn out
the required skills? - How to upgrade the skills of those currently
employed? - How to select and re-train workers for a
completely new occupation? - How to re-integrate the unemployed?
- How to deal with unemployed youth who have never
worked? - How to finance all of the above?
16Potential for developing countries to participate
in the global economy
- 75 of all foreign direct investment (FDI) going
to developing countries is concentrated in just
10 of these - Several Asian countries invest heavily in
science, mathematics and engineering education,
and have the capacity to undertake RD - One in four TV sets for export is now
manufactured in Mexico
17Recent initiatives
- Increasingly, unions are including lifelong
learning in collective agreements, either with
individual companies (Communication Workers of
America), or, industry-wide (eg, IG Metall in
Baden-Wurttenberg) - CWAs Alliance for employee growth and
development programme, places emphasis on
employment security, rather than, job security - The European Union, OECD and UNESCO have place
life- long learning on their agendas and have
embarked on ambitious work programmes
18Developments in the big 3 USA, Japan and China
- The US case study shows how small- and
medium-size enterprises can overcome the problem
of not having resources for continuous training - The impact of WTO membership on China cannot be
fully predicted but certainly represents a
challenge - The revamping of the long-term employment system
in Japan will have repercussions on continuous
learning programmes
19High performance work Best practice for lifelong
learning?
- Case studies
- Motorola
- Thorn Lighting
- WH Smith Sons (Tools) Ltd.
- Lucent Technologies
What is the enabling environment for HPW
practices?
20Thematic Panels
- The economic performance of the MEE industries
2001 recession and outlook - The social impact of restructuring the MEE
industries - Lifelong learning in the MEE industries Concepts
and examples the appropriate curricula for the
various aspects of lifelong learning - The roles of the social partners and governments
in lifelong learning in the MEE industries
Implications for the ILO
21Summary Slide
- Recent developments MEE industries
- Responses to the challenge of lifelong learning
- Potential for developing countries to participate
in the global economy - Recent initiatives
- Developments in the big 3 USA, Japan and China
- High performance work Best practice for lifelong
learning? - Thematic Panels