The Emergence of ‘Workforce Development’: Definition, Conceptual Boundaries and Implications

Abstract

This chapter begins a much-needed discourse about workforce development, a term used with increasing frequency among educational practitioners, policy-makers and scholars alike. In spite of the increasing use of the term, there has been limited discussion about its meaning and implications for established fields of study (Giloth, 2000; Grubb, 1999; Harrison & Weiss, 1998). This discourse is critical for both theoretical and practical reasons, particularly given the economic and social benefits that are expected from workforce development programmes (Grubb & Lazerson, 2004). Specifically, the purposes ofthis chapter are: (a) to discuss the emergence ofwork- force development based on five historical streams; (b) to propose a definition and conceptual boundaries forworkforce development; and (c) toexplore the implications ofworkforce development on policy-makers, researchers and practitioners.