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Megatrend
#3: Globalization
Our world is smaller than
ever before, creating both stress and opportunity for corporations
and the employees that work for them. International trade, the
volume of international air flights and telephone calls and the
percentage of corporate income that comes from overseas is higher
now than at any time in our history.
Information technology has
created new opportunities for how business is conducted, with one of
the largest opportunities allowing businesses to participate in
global commerce. Businesses can now enter foreign markets virtually
overnight, as well as deploy resources and operations around the
world to support these new markets. Information regarding new
product introductions, sales patterns, input requirements and local
market requirements all can be shared with any other division
of the business instantaneously through companies' information
networks. America's leading companies earn 30-65% of revenues from
international markets.
For workers in these
"virtual-global" businesses, this means that traditional
in-store employees who provide sales, inventory and customer
services can largely be replaced by information management systems,
with knowledge workers servicing the "store." However,
with these opportunities come great challenges. Economies that have
an inefficient supply of skilled knowledge workers will see
high-skilled, high-paying jobs lost to countries that can supply the
needed skills. Those that have a surplus will find job opportunities
opening up for their workers in business abroad.
The impact of
globalization on the education and training industry will be to
create tremendous opportunity, both here and abroad.
|
Globalization's Impact on
Education & Training |
|
Sector |
Impact |
|
Early
Education |
Increasing
recognition of the benefits of early education are driving
a more thoughtful approach to early education, getting
young children ready for school. |
|
K-12 Education |
Preparing our
kids to compete in a global economy means making our
schools the best in the world. And with our children
performing at or near the bottom of international
comparisons, we have a ways to go. |
|
Post-secondary |
Our
post-secondary institutions are the best in the world.
They have an opportunity, even responsibility, to ensure
that adults in the U.S. (and perhaps abroad) have access
to the ideas that have made our economy so powerful. |
|
Corporate
Training |
Corporations
need consistent multi-lingual training that is accessible
globally. Workers must also take responsibility for their
own development, taking advantage of the training offered
by their companies as well as using their own time to
develop skills relevant in a global economy. |
|
Consumer |
Growing
importance of education is universal, providing
opportunity for global brands to evolve, particularly in
supplemental products and services for consumers. |
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Source:
Merrill Lynch |
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