THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF KNOWLEDGE WORKERS
4. FORCES DRIVING CHANGE
Mumford’s (1970) neo-technic revolution, introduced above, concerns the creation of new technology by institutional research and development (R&D).
Mumford asserted that this ‘revolution’ began during World War II and continued during the ‘space race’ to apply scientific research to military, space exploration, and subsequently, to consumer product development. One should differentiate between these organised R&D initiatives and the previous efforts of individual researchers. For example, the archetypical ‘lone wolf’ inventor, in this author’s opinion, was Philo T. Farnsworth, who in 1921 drew circuit diagrams for electronic television on the chalkboard of his high school physics class, and later established the first research institute and factory to manufacture television sets from the 1930s to 1960s. In contrast, organised R&D initiatives include the “Manhattan Project” to develop the atomic bomb and the later development of the “Nautilus” nuclear submarine. These constitute public sector examples of Mumford’s neo-technic initiatives.
These early R&D initiatives may be prototypes for the knowledge-based
‘learning enterprise’ that has evolved during the ‘twilight’ of the Industrial Age and the ‘dawn’ of the Information Age. Certainly, their implications for the changing nature of work and the changes necessitated in education and training is quite clear.
Knowledge workers, engaged in R&D teams, or in problem-solving in many types of enterprises require the firm grounding in science, technology, mathematics and communications skills noted above.
Wilson (2001a, p. 24) noted, “a central feature of the neo-technic revolution is that employees work in a mechatronic environment.” That is, an environment “using highly-precise, electrically-powered mechanical equipment, increasingly commanded by sophisticated computer programmes.” This was observed to constitute “the merger of industrial processes and information,” which is a central attribute of the Information Age (Wilson, 2001c, p.237). If such mergers are taking place in the world of work, then it logically follows that education and training should prepare future workers for these challenges. It was noted that Japanese educators introduced mechatronics courses in high schools during the early 1990s and now has four courses, while many other developed nations had only begun to introduce courses in post-secondary TVET by the late 1990s (Wilson, 1997, p. 20).
This mechatronic environment is one manifestation of the field of robotics, which concerns the electronic control of production. At the outset of the Industrial Age, control over production was rudimentary. This progressed to Automated Process Control (APC) during and after World War II and developed into Computer Numerical Control (CNC) by the 1970s. Each iteration of process control required relevant education and training for those operating productive machinery and equipment. Nicola Tesla, the inventor of the induction electric motor and alternating
current (AC), built the first radio-controlled vehicle in the 1890s. The term “robot”
was coined by Czech playwright Karel Capek, adapting the Czech word for serf or forced labourer, in his 1921 play, R.U.R. [Rossum’s Universal Robots). Isaac Asimov coined the term “robotics” in 1942, but the first industrial robots were the Unimates, developed by George Devol and Joe Engelberger in the late 1950s.
A robot was defined by the Robot Institute of America (1979) as:
A reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks" (Dowling, 1996)
If there is one device that characterises the transition from the Industrial to the Information Ages it is the industrial robot. The “factory of the future” took shape in the 1980s when the automotive industry installed large numbers to increase productivity and compete globally with Japanese automotive firms that were the first to adopt them.
Rapid prototyping, or rapid manufacturing, constitutes one of the foremost changes in technology currently taking place in fabrication industries. Industrial age firms traditionally used carved dies for casting metal parts and/or injection mold models to extrude plastic components. These highly-precise molds and models were produced by tool and die makers, and mold makers, who were among the highest trained and remunerated of the skilled tradespersons.
This technology is being displaced by the capability to produce molds, models, and parts directly from three-dimensional CAD computer-generated designs, by- passing their fabrication by mold and model-makers. These new technologies build parts by adding material instead of removing it, building prototypes and parts on a layer-by-layer basis. Using these technologies, manufacturing time for parts of virtually any complexity is measured in hours instead of days, weeks, or months; in other words, it is rapid.
The designs are immediately digitised by computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM) systems. Dies or prototype models can now be fabricated directly from CAD software by means of new processes that fabricate items from paper, acrylic, or powdered metal, raw materials (Wilson, 2001a, p. 31). The process was first introduced in Detroit in 1987 and there are now 30 processes, some of which are commercial, while others are under development in research laboratories. These new skills are being introduced into community and technical colleges in most developed nations. If an example of a knowledge worker is desired, these technologists certainly seem to possess the necessary attributes.
Biotechnology concerns the manipulation of life forms (organisms) to provide desirable products for human use. This technology is traceable to the very beginnings of genetics and heredity, when the Austrian Augustinian monk, Gregor Mendel, cross-bred peas to improve varieties from 1857 to 1865. In addition, beekeeping and cattle breeding, which have been undertaken since pre-history, can also be considered to be biotechnology-related endeavours. The term biotechnology was coined in 1919 by Karl Ereky to describe the interaction of biology with human technology. However, usage of the word biotechnology has come to mean all aspects of an industry to create, develop, and market a variety of products through the
manipulation, on a molecular level, of life forms or utilisation of knowledge pertaining to living systems. In spite of considerable pejorative opinions on biotechnology, this technology promises to be quite prominent in the future.
While studying technological education in Israel, Wilson (1990, p. 37) observed The Northern Star Project, which gave ‘gifted’ high school students ‘real-time’
computer access to biotechnological research. This development appeared to be
‘light years’ ahead of any known educational programmes at that time and validated the powerful statement of the Director-General of the Israel Ministry of Education that they were designing an educational system to “fight the economic wars of the next century” (Wilson, 1990, p.25). The potential for student involvement in programmes of this type is essential in the preparation of knowledge workers needed in most nations.
Nanotechnology holds great promise to revolutionise fabrication industries in the longer-term future. Nano means one-billionth, so nanotechnology concerns devices that are a few billionths of a metre in size. This technology is currently at the research and prototype stage and is defined as the “manipulation of individual atoms and molecules to build structures to complex, atomic specifications.” (Miller, 1999) Drexler (1992) suggested that this technology might “invent devices that manufacture at almost no cost … [and] allow automatic construction of consumer goods without traditional labor.”
A physicist, Richard Feynman, whose book, Surely you’re Joking Mr. Feynman (1985), has inspired several generations of science and technology students and teachers, suggested the field of Nanotechnology. At the present time, nanotechnology research programmes have been established at major research universities in most developed nations. The impact of this revolutionary technology upon the workplace, as well as upon education and training, is not likely to be felt for a decade or more. However, prudent educators should begin adding this emergent field to curricula.
A mechatronic environment requires the multi-skilling of workers, learned by means of cross-training, or training in more than one area of specialisation. For example, a robotics repair-person needs to be trained in both the mechanical and electrical/electronic aspects of industrial robots (Koike & Inoki, 1990). These multiple skills are knowledge intensive and those workers must be capable of installing, maintaining and repairing industrial robots and, at the same time, training their co-workers. These are also excellent examples of knowledge workers. This emergent field also involves the merger of industrial processes and information and has important implications for education and training (Wilson, 2001a, p. 24).
Bothcross-training and mechatronics were developed in Japan; however, their development arose from concepts originated by W. Edwards Demming (and largely ignored!) in the U.S.A. (Demming, 1986). This scenario illustrates that nations that ignore the pace and pervasiveness of globalisation do so at the risk of losing their comparative advantage. An earlier example was the invention of a three-electron- gun television tube technology by a U.S. engineer at the California Institute of Technology. Because RCA and General Electric had invested in factories to produce television tubes with three separate electron guns, they were not interested. An
obscure Japanese firm bought the technology, re-named it Trinitron, and the Sony Corporation was born.
Knowledge management, originated in the business sector but appears to be another application of adult and continuing education. Krönner (2001, p. 2) defined Knowledge Management as a “tool to efficiently connect those who know with those who need to know.” His requirements for an institution are “to convert personal knowledge to institutional knowledge” and “for the global community knowledge management means that knowledge available in countries and international organisations is being converted into globally available knowledge.”
Sveiby (2001) writes that “knowledge has been ‘managed’ at least since the first human learned to transfer the skill to make a fire. Many early initiatives to transfer skills and information can be labelled ‘Knowledge Management,’ libraries being one, schools and apprenticeships others.” New professions include: “Chief Knowledge Officers, Knowledge Engineers, Intellectual Capital Directors and Intellectual Capital Controllers.” The Business Processes Resource Centre (BPRC) at Warwick University (2002) identified a “constellation of changes” in the business world reflected by “the emerging Fields of “Knowledge Management,” which include:
xLong-run shifts in advanced industrial economies which have led to the
increasingly widespread perception of knowledge as an important organisational asset
xThe rise of occupations based on the creation and use of knowledge
xThe convergence of information and communication technologies, and the advent of new tools such as Intranets and groupware systems
xTheoretical developments – for example, the resource-based view of the firm – which emphasise the importance of unique and inimitable assets such as tacit knowledge
xA new wave approach to packaging and promoting consultancy services in the wake of Business Processing Reengineering (BPRC, 2002).
Research on defining relevant competencies was noted above to be mainly sectoral. However, Wilson (1998) identified international competencies for the new millennium in a study undertaken across the spectrum of employers in Canada. The research identified the following desired international competencies:
Personal Competencies:
Ability to communicate effectively Tolerance for ambiguity
Demonstrated leadership
Technical/Professional Competencies:
Problem-solving
Up-to-date technical knowledge Negotiation skills
Strategic thinking/planning ability Inter-Cultural Competencies:
Ability to operate in other cultures
International job experience
Language capabilities (Wilson, 1998, p. 13).