Ensuring Continuous

Employability and
Workplace Competency in
the Knowledge Economy

Tan Sri Emeritus Prof. Gajaraj

Dhanarajan
Prof. Dato’ Dick Ho Sinn-Chye
Wawasan Open University
http://www.wou.edu.my
 KNOWLEDGE-ECONOMY

Both World Bank and OECD define

knowledge economy as one where
organizations and people acquire, create,
disseminate, and use knowledge more
effectively for greater economic and
social development.
 KNOWLEDGE-ECONOMY

• Advances in technology are fuelling growth

in the knowledge economy.

• Knowledge is the critical factor for

competitive advantage in the K-economy.

• K-economy requires enabling policies, clear

goals and investments in the knowledge
infrastructure.
 Knowledge Infrastructure

• A sound education system;

• A research and development system (R&D);
• A strong intellectual property (IP) regime;
• A technology transfer system (R&D to Market);
• A critical mass of innovative firms and
entrepreneurs (knowledge to marketable goods);
• A financial system (high-risk venture capital);
• An ICT enabled ecosystem (ensure knowledge
flow).
 The Enabling Environment
( 9th Malaysia Plan )

• Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Programme.

• National Information Technology Agenda (NITA)
and National IT Council (NITC).
• National Innovation System (NIS) and National
Innovation Council (NIC).
• National Strategic Framework for bridging the
digital-value divide (e-Inclusion ) for the benefit of
under-served sections of society in Malaysia.
• Malaysian Qualification Framework & Agency.
 A True Cybercity

• A cybercity by definition implies that social

and economic progress of communities is
mainly achieved through the advancement
and application of knowledge.
• True cybercities have set public policy
goals to empower their citizens to have
access to the global information network
and are using public/private partnerships to
achieve these goals.
e-SERVICES: e-Government, e-Business, e-Learning, e-Living
 Learning Goals in a Cybercity

In a cybercity, two different but related

learning goals are to be achieved.
• The education system in the city should
support efforts to individualize learning for
every citizen;
• To engage the learners in collaborative,
rather than solely competitive learning.
 Competencies at the Workplace

OECD classified competencies into three

broad categories:
• Use tools interactively (e.g. language,
technology);
• Interact in heterogeneous groups;
• Act autonomously

Key “workplace competencies” include communication skills,

problem-solving skills, the ability to work in teams, & ICT skills.
Rapidly Changing Work Environment

Revan’s axiom: Learning > Change

“For organizations to survive and grow, their
rate of learning must be equal to, or greater
than the rate of change in their environment.”

The more change that is going on, the greater the

need to get learning attitudes and structures right.
This learning process is probably the key challenge
for all organizations in the K-economy.
 Profile of a Knowledge Worker
Knowledge workers need to be able to:
• Balance work, learning and knowing;
• Undertake research and development;
• Rapidly acquiring new skills regularly;
• Apply existing skills and knowledge to solve new
problems using their pattern recognition skills;
• Maintain a balance between productivity and
creativity;
• Collaborate in both face-to-face and virtual
environments.
 Knowledge Obsolescence

• Degree level knowledge in the ‘useful’ disciplines

has a half-life of just a few years;
• New knowledge and new technologies make
much of what we learned obsolete very soon;
• Human knowledge is now doubling every few
years and is accelerating;
• In such an environment, we must not stop
learning when we leave school, we must learn
throughout life – or become unemployable.
 Traits of a Learning Organization
• Brings knowledge to the workplace (facilitates on-
demand learning by each individual worker);
• Supports performance with better help systems and
other tools that enable people to achieve workplace
competence and higher levels of performance (e.g.
EPSS*) with less “formal” learning;
• Creates virtual communities in which collaboration
and knowledge–sharing thrives.
• Makes access to information and expertise within
easy reach.
* EPSS = Electronic Performance Support System
 e-Learning in the Cybercity

“a concept where students would

learn completely within an online
environment, with learning
centers that are wired to the hilt
as the central hubs.”
Gooler, D. and C. Stegman (1994) A Scenario of Education in
Cyber City. Paper presented to Japan-United States Teacher
Education Consortium (JUSTEC).
 Benefits of e-Learning

• Customizability (to suit learner)

• Interactive (with other learners and
instructors)
• Just-in-Time (anytime & anywhere
versus classroom-based learning
sessions)
• Current (access to up-to-date material)
•e-Learning
User-centric
focuses (learner
primarily on>the
instructor)
needs of the learner,
instead of on the abilities of the instructor.
The Learning Markets in K-Economy

• The Academic Market

• The Corporate Market
• The Consumer Market
 Continuing Education
 Life-long Learning
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who
cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn
and relearn.” - Alvin Toffler
 Evolution of Technology-Based Learning
Transition
Non-Networked Networked

High Learning-on-Demand
Classroom-
Based Phase 2004-08
Lectures
Intermediate
Video & Phase 2000-03
Audio
Tapes
Non-
Early Phase
Medium 1997-99
Network
Based CBT

Phase 1
Effective
Delivery Phase 2
Phase 3
Cost
Low
Time

Source: Morgan Keegan (2000) eLearning – the Engine of the Knowledge Economy
 Learning-on-Demand Capability
• High quality learning content, created & delivered at low
cost;
• Tracked network learning;
• Correlation of learning to individual and enterprise
performance;
• Easy to use sophisticated interactivity technologies;
• Wide acceptance of object-based content standards;
• Easy availability of learning modules on web;
• Thriving electronic commerce in learning and training
content.
 Web 2.0 and e-Learning 2.0

• Transition of Web from a tool of reference (Web

1.0) to one of collaboration (Web 2.0) offers
teachers and learners with rich opportunities for
e-Learning;
• e-Learning 2.0 provides a more holistic & user-
centered approach towards learning;
• Web 2.0 seems to have a great potential for
enhancing learning and performance through
access to knowledge and collaboration.
Yeona Jang (2007) How new Web technology can shape e-Learning.
In 2nd e-ASEM Global Technology in e-Learning, Seoul, Korea.
 Critical Success Factors

• For nations to be competitive in today’s fast

changing economic environment, they must put in
much effort and resources in re-training, re-skilling
and re-schooling the workforce.
• Unless efforts, resources and policies are in place
for the adult workforce of K-economies to upgrade
their educational levels and skills, there is every
danger of obsolescence and dysfunctionality
creeping in. Then K-economy, like most other
kinds of economies, will have a limited shelf life.
 Responsibility of the State

• The State has to put in place an enabling

framework that encourages post secondary
education to be more innovative and more
responsive to the needs of a globally competitive
knowledge economy and to the changing labour
market requirements for advance human capital.
• Continuous enhancement of knowledge and its
application requires the State-active engagement
in preparing citizens for the workplace as well as
supporting citizens already in the workplace.
 Role of Universities
• The provision of tertiary education is necessary for
the effective creation, dissemination and
application of knowledge and for building technical
and professional capacity.
• The transformation of modes of delivery of
education and training and the organizational
patterns of post-secondary institutions requires a
major shifting of the paradigm as a consequence of
the ICT revolution.
• The paradigm shift not only involves the curriculum
but also the mode of delivery.
 New Kind of Teaching Institution
• Educational and retraining provisions for such a
workforce would require a new kind of teaching
institution that recognizes a new demand and a
totally new culture.
• Such teaching institutions will need the capacity
to discern trends in the education and training
landscape and adjust its delivery patterns
accordingly.
• They will need to develop curriculum through
forward-thinking policies and adaptable
administrative structures.
 New Kind of Teaching Institution

• The organizational pattern of post-secondary

institutions requires a major shifting of the
paradigm as a consequence of the ICT revolution.
• These will need to create a capability development
framework that supports the matching of the
curriculum with the needs of clients.
• The management of reinventing out institutions of
post-secondary teaching is a crucial business skill
and a pivotal driver for enabling high quality
capability development initiatives.
Fostering Strategic Partnerships

STATE
GOVERNMENT

HUMAN
CAPITAL
DEVELOPMENT
KNOWLEDGE
CREATION
STRATEGIES
TEACHING LEARNING
INSTITUTIONS ORGANIZATIONS
Thank You
For Your Attention