Is the Knowledge Gap Getting Bigger?

Knowledge is now the hot stuff in today’s techno world. It is the commodity that matters, it is traded, it attracts capital and advantages someone who has it. Unhappily, it is also creating a disparity not yet experienced before.

Children in Cambodia.

Countries and businesses run after ideas, innovations and new research as fast as they can and as creatively as they can. They spy on another just to get hold of that unknown that might just make the utter difference to their winning the game. And when they have the latest technology, often they become proprietorial. True, especially in cases when they have the bigger slice of the market. The moat is dug and the castle walls go up.

But not all are able to actively play in this competition

Many countries lag behind as they scramble to hit the 19th century in social development while the world accelerates into science fiction. Because the change is so fast even for those who have the resources to respond, many find it very difficult to be competitive. Individuals are lagging behind, too, as learning is more and more fractured and net based.

I have to confess, it was only very recently when I decided I have to catch up just in one small area, communications tech. It took several days of research and interviews with electronic store assistants ranging from total doofuses to really well informed and helpful. I was amazed at what was available. If the earth is flat, maybe I quietly fell off the edge a while ago. 

Rural Village in Cambodia.

The United Nations Millenium Goals will not be met by lagging countries. And within these countries, there are those who cannot even avail of any education or training. But even those countries who have advanced in these Millenium Goals, the knowledge and skills are not adequate to make their people perform well in today’s economy.

Knowledge is now the hot stuff in today’s techno world. It is the commodity that matters, it is traded, it attracts capital and advantages someone who has it. Unhappily, it is also creating a disparity not yet experienced before.

Countries and businesses run after ideas, innovations and new research as fast as they can and as creatively as they can. They spy on another just to get hold of that unknown that might just make the utter difference to their winning the game. And when they have the latest technology, often they become proprietorial. True, especially in cases when they have the bigger slice of the market. The moat is dug and the castle walls go up.

But not all are able to actively play in this competition

In villages where people are segregated from the world of the web, the demands for training are often neglected and residents in these villages still practice the skills and ideas that their parents passed on to them and which they learned from their parents as well. They are desperate to do well in the changing market but most are not even aware of the basic training they need.

In the knowledge technology world of today, many people are illiterate. This is the knowledge gap we are talking about. Now there are a few men in sandals and beards who say this is a good thing. Don’t spoil their culture. Leave them as they are. Is this really what should happen?

It is not for lack of will that many countries are sliding off the catch up truck. They are desperate to do well in this new knowledge economy but there is no infrastructure, no equipment, no knowledge and very few resources in many places.

We visited a remote village recently in Cambodia and the students had only seen a computer on a television show. In another, they had seen a computer but no one in the group had the opportunity to even touch it. Entrepreneurs are filling the lack that government cannot fill so there are now internet cafes in many remote places but they are very inadequate and beyond the means of most young people.

A teacher in a central school 30 minutes away from a major city in the Philippines told me about one of her students. She noticed that he was getting weaker. She called for his parents and they also did not understand why.

Upon further questioning, they found out that he was using his lunch money to get some time in the internet. Most of the time, he watched from the back of his friends as they did their research. So he started using his lunch money to get some time in the internet. He would just buy a Popsicle to wet the rice he brought from home so it was easy to swallow.

This boy represents the majority….and this place is not even remote. There is good internet connection in this town and many people have desktops and laptops. But there are millions more who have not touched a computer. Thus, the digital divide becomes the digital grand canyon.

But the knowledge gap is more than just this. We are talking about people lagging behind in many areas including medicine, health, wealth creation and the great market of opportunities.

Cultural Differences.

Countries are taking effective action to change the buffet of learning opportunities. But what about you….are you gradually sliding off the edge of the flat world like I was? You are what you know. You are not privileged as an economic player because you are a citizen of your country. That is no longer a guarantee.

The Qataris complain that in Qatar, foreigners are getting the jobs. The Qataris are not. They have become the minority in their country and they complain that these foreigners do not teach them anything. And don’t kid yourself. You might think that this is only true of third world countries. No sir!

The United States is lagging behind in K-12 education. And what is sad is that many in developed countries like the United States don’t realize how far behind they are. They don’t realize they will end up in $12 an hour jobs while their counterparts in other countries will sit in $50 an hour jobs.

Recruitment is international now and countries are prepared to take in and compete for highly skilled people. It is happening now and it is happening fast. We used to steal the bright kids from the rest of the world…OK, OK, we still do…but the balance is shifting. The knowledge wars have just begun and we are shorter and shorter of foot soldiers!

A company in Singapore for instance will be prepared to hire a skilled applicant from the Philippines or India because they are willing to take less than $2000 per month and no American will take that. Companies are now moving base operations to countries with skilled labor….or should we say skilled talent….and are willing to work for less. The competition is stiff.

Institutes in Taiwan create partnerships and alliances with research institutes all over the world and translate books into their own language and disseminate these to their people to make them more competitive.

In the United States, money for education change is being swallowed by some very ugly unions and a great deal of research that we used to own is being shipped to the talent….India and China. They are creating facilities and centers equal to that of the United States in key areas that link to their core competencies.

Technology and Global Competition

Technology has indeed brought global competition closer. Technology has easily brought jobs to where companies can find the least cost from increasingly competent and well educated workers willing to accept wages far lower than the average North American or Western European wage. And increasingly, institutions in other countries are producing better and better graduates.

Shopping for Knowledge

Beyond this improvement in home based institutions, the world knows how to shop for knowledge! China has its own Shanghai Jiaotung University Ranking, reviewing universities all over the world which they publish as a guide to Chinese parents who are now able to afford sending their children to where the best education is.

The parents you are buying from in the stalls in Chatuchak market in Bangkok are sending their children to British schools. The vendors selling you Abercrombie shirts in the Russian market in Phnom Penh, send their children to Australia and the United States.

Maybe just as important, as graduates, the students go home instead of staying in North America because the jobs are shifting to them. The gap is closing up.

Many in developing countries try hard to have a smart phone even the latest and expensive models. This works really well for them as they use the dictionary, search the internet and watch videos.

A friend commented that many don’t work well in her country except the internet. So these smart phones may just be the link to bridge this gap.

Countries Taking Action

In other parts such as UK and US, vested interests suck up the resources for schools and the quality of education as measured in international competitiveness rankings suffers the inevitable consequence.

In yet other parts of the world, the knowledge accelerator pedal is pushed hard to the firewall …and in many cases…many aren’t even in the race!

Is there any good news…..YES. Action is underway in each of these areas.

Competition for Skills is Global

You are what you know. The barriers have gone that protected you and the jobs you have in your own country. Other people from other countries compete for those jobs.

Companies move where they can get the best advantage for their shareholders and governments compete to welcome them with incentives. Some governments have become aware of the need to invest in knowledge.

Singapore encourages even their older retired people to get into the internet. But other governments have lagged behind in providing skills for their people and families have backed away from helping young folk make good learning decisions. Thus, the reliance on foreign labour and expertise.

Island Kids in the Philippines.

Knowledge Gap and other Economic Problems

The gap is there and it will create other economic and social problems. Work needs to be done to bridge the gap in the areas that are essential to the quality of lives of people.

The gap needs to be bridged in the basic knowledge essentials. Before we become overwhelmed by the social and economic problems that ensue, the challenge needs to be faced now. It must be faced by YOU.

Bridging the gap? How? Go on strike? Companies will just move on or out. They will continue to do assembly in your country but outsource the parts somewhere else. Hey Volkswagen, how come everything comes from Mexico? Well done the Euro entitled worker!

You are no longer protected. Government regulations will not work as we tear down tariff walls with WTO and NAFTA.. You have to compete. And what you have are your skills, your knowledge, your ability to apply such and innovate from it.

The gap is there. You want to be in the leadership side of the gap not part of the whining stragglers blaming everyone else. The entitlements in this area ARE ALL GONE except maybe for some groups (???) who are absolutely professional whiners with way too much political leverage.

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