ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that changes in technology, the very high levels of unemployment, uncertainty in commerce and industry regarding the nature of education and training and indifference on the part of successive governments, place new responsibilities on the current generation of teachers. Not only do they have to design and justify courses for students who may have no clear employment prospects, but they also need to be able to survey possible local needs and to respond to the particular learning requirements of the older worker seeking retraining. The importance of these elements is highlighted by evidence of serious skill shortages alongside very high levels of unemployment. The new technology both poses a challenge and offers opportunities to teachers: courses need to take account of the changes which the new technology is bringing about in industry and commerce, and new technology enables new and powerful teaching methods. Research techniques which can contribute to our understanding of the learning process are of particular value to the innovator and are now available to teachers with quite modest computing resources. These factors, together with the speed of technological change, emphasize the important role which a new style of teacher training could play in equipping teachers to respond to the responsibilities which have been thrust upon them.
