ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the existing work on skills formation and provides evidence on the way in which eight countries at different stages of economic development approach skill formation. It also provides an insight into what democratic and political conditions are necessary in the workplace for successful skills formation and labor market development. The book highlights the importance of having independent state structures for supporting workplace change and subsequent economic transition, all of which have implications for other former Soviet economies that are embarking on the pain process of economic transformation. It describes what economic transformations have occurred in South Korea and the role played by education and training in this process. The book also focuses on the Republic of Ireland and traces the role played by training in the recent structural transformation of the country’s economy.
