Education
Education is very important in a knowledge society. The OECD asserts that human capital is one of the most important factors for growth. Studies have shown that if everyone received an extra year of education then long-term GDP would increase by 5 percent.
For the individual, education contributes to ensure a high quality of life standard by enabling learning and self-fulfillment. Everyone needs good education opportunities to ensure personal development, job opportunities and an active participation in society in general. Education is not only of use for the individual – it is also a necessity. The demands on today’s labour market are always increasing and the risk of losing contact with the labour market is greatest for persons with limited, or no education at all.
- The population aged 25-64 according to average number of years spent in formal education, 2004
Source: OECD: Education at a Glance, 2006<br />
The supply of a well educated and flexible labour force at all levels is a precondition for the region to maintain and enhance its competitiveness and its position as one of the leading educational and knowledge metropolises in Europe. Analyses made by InnovationMonitor(1) show that there is a clear relation between countries’ performances and the conditions of a national framework for managing human capital. Industry typically shows better results in countries where conditions for education, research, organisation and management are good(2).
The international level:
It is difficult to compare the level of education in different countries. This is because the educational systems vary from country to country, and it is difficult to find comparable statistical measures that take these differences into account. According to the OECD, both Sweden and Denmark are above average regarding the level of education in the general population, which OECD measures by the numbers of years of education.
However, when comparing how many people have a university or higher education the results are not at all as impressive. Here, Sweden comes in fifteenth place and Denmark comes in ninth place. The graph also indicates that in both Denmark and Sweden this is not a common occurrence when comparing the younger and older generations. In contrast, this occurs in e.g. South Korea, Spain and France, where the percentage of persons with higher education increases dramatically compared to the older generation.
- Share of population with higher education (ISCED 5+6). Percentage according to age groups, 2005
Source: OECD: Education at a Glance, 2007
(1)InnovationsMonitor can be reached through FORA’s website (www.foranet.dk).
(2)From background analysis of human capital to the “Metropolernes Globale Udfordringer” report.
