Workforce Development Rhetoric and the Realities of 21st Century Capitalism

Erik Jacobson

doi:10.5130/lns.v24i1.4898

Abstract

Increasingly, the provision of adult education (including literacy and training programs) is influenced by a rhetoric of workforce development that tasks education with closing a supposed ‘skills gap’ between the skills that workers have and what employers are looking for. This deficit model of education blames adult learners for their own condition, as well as for larger problems in the economy. In addition to arguing for broader goals for adult education, those in the field also need to question the economic premises of this rhetoric. A review of current economic conditions points to fundamental aspects of capitalism as the source of instability, which means that education and training programs have a limited ability to move large numbers of people out of poverty. For this reason, students and teachers in adult education should focus on developing structural analyses of the situation and push for substantive changes in the economy.

Highlights

As with education more broadly, adult education has long been contested ideological territory
Efforts that stress the need for adult education to support the economy by developing human capital clash with those focused on helping learners realise political liberation
Have people continued to champion the cause of adult literacy and education for civic participation and social justice (Nash 2006, Ramdeholl 2011), there have been analyses that focus on structural issues within capitalism that call into question assumptions about the ability of programs to deliver on the promise of employment or promotion (Mayo 2009, Nesbitt 2006)

Summary

Introduction

As with education more broadly, adult education has long been contested ideological territory. This workforce development rhetoric is shaping employmenttraining programs, it is increasingly influential in adult basic education, as well. Have people continued to champion the cause of adult literacy and education for civic participation and social justice (Nash 2006, Ramdeholl 2011), there have been analyses that focus on structural issues within capitalism that call into question assumptions about the ability of programs to deliver on the promise of employment or promotion (Mayo 2009, Nesbitt 2006) In keeping with this tradition, I will focus on specific aspects of the rhetoric of workforce development and how this rhetoric serves to dissemble the realities of 21st century capitalism. Advocates should argue for a robust adult education system, the economy remains the defining location of class struggle

The crisis in the workforce

Findings

The trouble ahead