Skills for Innovation and Research

Pages: 144 Publication: 8 March 2011 (print) pdf available now

Innovation holds the key to ongoing improvements in living standards, as well as to solving pressing social challenges. Skilled people play a crucial role in innovation through the new knowledge they generate, how they adopt and develop existing ideas, and through their ability to learn new competencies and adapt to a changing environment.

This book seeks to increase understanding of the links between skills and innovation. It explores the wide range of skills required, ranging from technical to "soft", and the ability to learn; it presents data and evidence on countries' stocks and flows of skills and the links between skill inputs and innovation outputs. Given the importance of meeting the demands of knowledge-based economic activity, the book investigates the issues of skill supply, education, workplace training and work organisation. It highlights the importance of enabling individuals to acquire appropriate skills and of optimising these at work.

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Table of contents

Executive Summary (download pdf)
Introduction
Chapter 1. Skills and innovation – Links, questions and challenges
Chapter 2. What are the skills needed for innovation?
Chapter 3. What the data and evidence say about skills and innovation
Chapter 4. Developing and using skills for innovation – Policy issues

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