KAL•TEC Knowledge Economy

What is the Knowledge Economy?

Continual training and applied learning is essential for the knowledge economy workforce. Employees will need to maintain their skills, education, and credentials in order to meet the demands of the marketplace. KAL•TEC seeks to help Kalkaska County residents and workers by providing this education.

The knowledge economy is a term used to acknowledge a new form of economic function. It recognizes the new world of global business, and the increased importance of information transfer. At the turn of the last century we began to define the economy as an industrial economy, one whose riches were mainly based in manufacturing products and providing services around these products. Agricultural and industrial economies have relied upon labor, capital, and machinery as the foundation of their bottom lines. That definition served us well for over a century. Things are changing.

The knowledge economy recognizes the importance of its predecessor, and moves that paradigm to a new level. Knowledge is now of discernable value in the marketplace on its own. Today, it is knowledge that acts as a currency to drive industry. The assets of a Microsoft or a Hewlett-Packard cannot be measured by strictly counting the boxes rolling off the assembly line bearing their logos. If you were to ask an executive from one of these companies what their greatest asset is, they would likely point to their people--including the skinny 20-ish kid wearing khaki pants and a t-shirt. The combined knowledge of the workforce is what companies count on to keep them on the cutting edge of a swiftly changing community of information.

To remain competitive in the job market, an employee must develop skills that access, create, and utilize knowledge. Employers, in order to sustain competitive advantages in business, are looking to provide the required training, information technology, direction, and motivation for its employees.