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The Internationalisation of Further Education: Between Geoeconomics and Geopolitics

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Geopolitical Transformations in Higher Education

Part of the book series: Educational Governance Research ((EGTU,volume 17))

Abstract

The chapter intends to radicalise a research agenda that explores the link between the knowledge-intensive economy, education and geopolitics. With the increasing significance of this type of post-Fordist economy not only higher education but equally further education has increased in importance. In this contribution, I seek to explore the enabling conditions of corporate education, examining the extent to which companies are able to create their own home-made corporate education. My contribution is divided into three parts. Firstly, I will set the stage by outlining the increasing importance of MNCs as part of globalisation and the complex relationship between geopolitics and geoeconomics in this context. I will then move on to discuss an analytical framework that makes it possible to explore the degree of autonomy MNCs have to create their own education and training. Against this backdrop, I will, thirdly, summarise some important findings of the pilot study I conducted where I explored the degree of internationalisation of corporate education that ranges from initial vocational education to leadership training of the top management. In each case, I explore the enabling conditions of, as well as restrictions on, the companies’ attempt to harmonise their firm-based education throughout the entire corporation with its branches in different parts of the world. I will reflect on the geopolitical and geoeconomic implications in each case, with a view to developing a new research agenda.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See Eurostat TRNG_LFSE_01: Participation rate in education and training (last 4 weeks) by sex and age https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/trng_lfse_01/default/table?lang=en

  2. 2.

    See Eurostat trng_aes_100, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/trng_aes_100/default/table?lang=en

  3. 3.

    See Eurostat (trng_aes_170) https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/trng_aes_170/default/table?lang=en

  4. 4.

    http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Continuing_Vocational_Training_Survey_(CVTS)_methodology [last accessed 24/04/2021].

  5. 5.

    CMEs include Germany, France, Japan, Sweden, Austria, and Switzerland.

  6. 6.

    Liberal Market Economies (LMEs) are the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.

  7. 7.

    A study by the American consultancy firm Brandon Hall Group speaks of a trickle-down strategy in expenditure on training Brandon Hall Group, 2016. “2016 Brandon Hall Group, Training Benchmarking Study.”

  8. 8.

    Examples are Motorola, Apple, Deloitte, Dupont, IBM, General Motors, AT&T, Dell, Ford, and Boeing in the USA. In Germany the airline company Lufthansa was the first to establish a CU, followed by Volkswagen, Daimler-Benz, Siemens, Deutsche Bank and the pharmaceutical company Bayer, to name but a few. Examples in France are AXA, Alcatel-Lucent, EDF Group France Telecom, Fnac, Mazars, Orange and PSA Peugeot Citroën. Companies in Spain with corporate universities are Gas Natural Fenosa, Grupo Santander, Indra, Ferrovial, Telefónica and Banco Bilbao.

  9. 9.

    https://www.mars-llc.ru/cis/en/careers/more-than-a-job/mars-university.aspx [last accessed 24/04/2021].

  10. 10.

    https://quotes.wsj.com/AAPL/company-people/executive-profile/35827600 [last accessed 24/04/2021].

  11. 11.

    https://cpduk.co.uk [last accessed 24/04/2021].

  12. 12.

    The service is carried out by a sub-unit, Corporate Learning Improvement Process (CLIP) http://www.efmd.org [last accessed 24/04/2021].

  13. 13.

    A comparison between 2007 and 2011 indicates a slight decline in the education provided by employers, while external provision increased in many European countries. See EuroStat: Distribution of non-formal education and training activities by provider[trng_aes_170].

  14. 14.

    There also are some country-related differences. The EU Adult Education Survey identifies a broad range from 71% outsourcing in the Czech Republic to 31% in Slovenia. The EU average is 46 per cent. See Eurostat: Percentage of the total hours in external CVT courses, by training provider and NACE Rev. 1.1 [trng_cvts3_67] http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=trng_hour03n&lang=en [last accessed 28/05/2021].

  15. 15.

    This information is provided by the company. See www.skillsoft.com/about/press_room/press_releases/June-14-17-Skillsoft.asp [last accessed 24/04/2021].

  16. 16.

    www.wilsonlearning.com [last accessed 24/04/2021].

  17. 17.

    About 10% of training, on average, is provided by this type of provider in the EU countries, according to the latest EuroStat data. See EuroStat: Distribution of non-formal education and training activities by provider Code: trng_aes_170. https://data.europa.eu/euodp/en/data/dataset/pjTE42j35nuLTd0tCI8R0A [last accessed 24/04/2021].

  18. 18.

    Interview 11; see also www.mercer.com/about-mercer.html [last accessed 24/04/2021].

  19. 19.

    This tendency towards a « digital monopoly » has triggered a very important discussion, both in the US Congress and the European Parliament, about how to revise competition and antitrust policy, respectively Foroohar, Rana. 2021. “EU and US regulators scrutinise Big Tech and digital ‘monopoly’.” in Financial Times.

  20. 20.

    http://www.thewindowsclub.com/microsoft-learning-partner [last accessed 24/04/2021].

  21. 21.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2019/05/15/worlds-largest-tech-companies-2019/ [last accessed 24/05/2021].

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  1. Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Eva Hartmann

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  1. Eva Hartmann
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  1. Institute of Education, University of Münster, Münster, Germany

    Marcelo Parreira do Amaral

  2. Department of Education, Goethe University Frankfurt/Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Christiane Thompson

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Hartmann, E. (2022). The Internationalisation of Further Education: Between Geoeconomics and Geopolitics. In: Parreira do Amaral, M., Thompson, C. (eds) Geopolitical Transformations in Higher Education. Educational Governance Research, vol 17. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94415-5_11

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