Reflections on Trends
While growing up I was never a particular fan of science fiction. Images of space travel, commuters going to work in flying cars, and robots cleaning house seemed too distant in time to be worth serious concern to me. On the other hand, the predictions of economic futurists, economists, demographers, social scientists, inventors, and others focused on practical changes that may occur in a few years or less, have always fascinated me.

In the coming months, I and others will share our reflections in a series of topical essays. We will explore the future place of workforce development based on the trends that will drive work and the economy. We may engage in a flight of fantasy from time to time. However, our main goal is to point you to interesting and important developments in economics, science, trade, and technology that will shape the workforce field of tomorrow. Many of the articles and Web sites that we will point out will suggest where we are heading, for example, in health care, manufacturing, or leisure services, but they will not tell you what the workforce system should do to respond. That question can only be answered by you and your colleagues. So while we may have an occasional insight or suggestion, we want to hear what you think about the shape of things to come.

Robert Knight