How does the current labour market training system function and whose interests does it serve? In this introductory textbook, Bob Barnetson wades into the debate between workers and employers, and governments and economists to investigate the ways in which labour power is produced and reproduced in Canadian society. After sifting through the facts and interpretations of social scientists and government policymakers, Barnetson interrogates the training system through analysis of the political and economic forces that constitute modern Canada. This book not only provides students of Canada’s division of labour with a general introduction to the main facets of labour-market training—including skills development, post-secondary and community education, and workplace training—but also encourages students to think critically about the relationship between training systems and the ideologies that support them.

"Just how important is employer-based training to Canada's competitive position globally? How do we rank among other industrialized nations? On what basis should we calculate the returns to education and training, and how should the calculations be used in the development of government policy?" "Canada has a delivery system of education that permits its citizens to acquire some of the best skills on earth. But have we become too complacent? Should we begin to recognize that employer-based training rather than traditional education is appropriate? The reader will appreciate that this is far from an academic debate. There are likely to be federally initiated changes to the public funding of higher education during the next few years, and this will have implications for the education and training right across the country." "This monograph will be required reading for anyone interested in Canada's competitive position, the state of Canadian education and the readiness of Canadian workers for the economy of tomorrow."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Are government-sponsored training programs a route to greater management control of the workplace, or to labour freedom? Today as at the time of the book's publication in 1992, training is prominent in public policy and political life. The authors in this collection maintain that it is central to management initiatives aimed at the restructuring of the workplace, and that governments rely on it as a substitute for coherent industrial policy. On the other hand, it can enhance workers' skills, improve working conditions and build a more a more democratic working life. Training for What? is a collection of papers examining occupational training as a tool of ongoing political struggle in the workplace. An Our Schools/Our Selves book.