Literacy and Human Resources Development: An Integrated Approach

The persistently high number of illiterate persons, and exacerbated conditions of stress on education, training, and employment systems worldwide necessitate major alterations in approaches to human resources development. Accordingly, this article overviews the widening scope of human resources problems facing countries at all points on the development spectrum and outlines some broad initiatives being taken by the United Nations Development Program to assist countries in addressing these issues. In particular, it is argued that strategies for improving literacy and basic learning programs must be more participatory and must explicitly acknowledge the mutualities between several social sectors. Broader, more intersectoral research, policies, and procedures are indicated that look as much at the linkages between sectors as they do at intrasectoral mechanisms. The United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index is defined, and an operational framework for more integrated human resources development is discussed.