| Abstract: | Two main questions are discussed. First, how might transnational corporations contribute to various forms of education in developing countries? Secondly, what measures should states take in education to help them get better advantage from the transnational corporations? Adopting a pragmatic approach, the paper points out that the most important form of education is often the most overlooked, namely, on-the-job training in a range of occupations from low skilled to top management. Although this is indeed supplemented by in-service training programmes, the latter are not always on offer. In general, transnational corporations are interested in education in their host countries only insofar as it affects their own operations. For their part, host country governments have a difficult task. On the one hand they need to educate their young people to be able to take advantage of the technology and expertise made available by the transnational corporations. On the other hand, they need to give them an education which will help them to preserve their culture, despite absorbing the technology and thereby also the culture of foreign firms. More particularly, host countries seem to lack the specialized training, which is necessary for dealing effectively and advantageously with the transnational corporations. In a final note, the paper considers what might happen if a ‘real’ NIEO were introduced. |
lik