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LIFELONG EDUCATION AS A FACTOR OF LABOR POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
L. K. Kuzmina
The dynamic transformation processes that have been taking place in the Russian economy in recent decades have resulted in a crisis of traditional models and theories of regional economic development, and have called for new approaches to the formation and development of labor potential. In this connection it is necessary to scrutinize the positive and negative sides of the domestic and foreign experience of the formation and development of labor potential, and on this basis shape a new system that would correspond to modern demands and ensure the continuity of the improvement of labor potential.
The present need of lifelong education is a response to the acceleration in the rates of changes in economy sectors, markets, globalization processes, technological achievements, and the transition to a post-industrial economy. The traditional methods of early manpower planning have turned out to be ineffective in these conditions, since they are based on the extrapolation of the development tendencies of the branches of the economy established in the course of history. The way out of this situation can be optimal only on the basis of the objective estimation of the initial socio-economic situation, the formation of the aims of the economy staffing, the justification of the development strategy, the development of efficient socio-economic policies, and the mobilization of labor potential. Thus, the legislation and methodical work of the federal and regional strategic planning and labor potential management have become more important today.
The use of strategic planning includes a number of successive stages: analysis of the environment to define strategic regional capacities; analysis of inner factors to reveal strong and weak points; the choice of a strategy of labor potential development and its justification on the basis of the regional strategy; the realization of the strategy, result assessment and choice of the right behavior. The scientific treatment of labor potential issues as well as the choice of a policy ensuring its development have both become topical today. In these conditions education has become a factor determining the quality of life. The quality of education has become a factor of principle that defines both a worker’s performance and a worker’s salary. The ability to generate new knowledge is turning into an important factor of social recognition as well as an essential condition of a person’s
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involvement into eager activity and achievement of a higher social status. The factor of the personal interest in lifelong education thereby ranks high among a person’s incentives. Professional growth favors a person’s development, gives confidence and a feeling of security, as well as satisfaction with labor, self-esteem and recognition. Thus, the dominant position of lifelong education in the motivation system of a modern worker is very significant for not only improvement of labor potential quality, but also a person’s development.
Lifelong education contributes to professional mobility, which is a factor for the development of science-intensive high-tech industries of the basic branches of the economy, and the establishment of competitive ability of the innovative economy. In this connection we consider the creation of a regional socio-economic system of raising and training new staff to work in regions that meet the modern quality demands of employers and planning needs of the targeted program of economic development as being highly topical.
Lifelong education is not only a significant factor of shaping and developing labor potential and supporting the regional economy, but also performs a social function of contributing to personality development and providing both economic and spiritual progress in society as a whole. The solution of the development problems of lifelong education can be found by means of mechanisms of social partnership of government and management bodies which helps not only to coordinate and realize mutual interests, but also to use lifelong education for the purpose of reconstruction of the training system and labor potential use.
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