This work was commissioned by the subcommittee, Academia-Industry Relations of the National Council for Civilian R&D (Molmop).
One of the goals of this committee is a re-examination of the suitability of the training provided by higher education institutions for the needs of the future economy.
There is an agreement among policy makers and academics that investments in human capital profit individuals, organizations, and society as a whole. Educated people have a better chance of finding their place in the labor market and earning more. The usefulness of education to society is reflected in economic growth, social cohesion, and low crime rates.
However, although education, training, and lifelong learning are a promising form of investment, the resources required for this purpose have to be allocated effectively. It is important to consider that the education and training system should be flexible and able to adapt to the changes in the skills required in the labor market over time.
These challenges do not face only policy makers but also higher education institutions, companies, and individuals. Training and education that are adapted to market needs will contribute to the employee’s personal welfare, competitiveness, innovation of the companies in the various economic sectors, and society as a whole.
Although there is a consensus about the importance of an educated and skilled workforce, matching the skills and training to the labor market of the future is not certain. Since Israel has no institution that deals with projections for supply and demand of scientific and technological human resources and for developments related to technology, the Samuel Neaman Institute was asked to present a literature review on technology forecasting and human resource forecasts studies that are being conducted in several countries in the OECD.
