OER for Business Innovation and Employee Development

White paper

This document presents draft recommendations to enhance the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) as a catalyst for innovation in business innovation and employment.

The introduction provides a background overview of the continuous need for business innovation and related employee development and the potential benefits of OERs to meet this ongoing challenge. The document outlines the key drivers for business innovation and employee development and potential challenges relating to the use of OERs in a business context. This is followed by an overview of six categories of OER benefits to highlight the potential for them to become an enabler for collaboration and scaleable and inclusive innovation for the benefits of business and lifelong learning employees. The policy context of Open Education is discussed, emphasizing the commitment to openness and the UNESCO Recommendation on OER. Relevant stakeholders are identified, including employees, business leadership, educators, learners,, policymakers, and others who can benefit from OER.

The recommendations for policymakers highlight a number of initiatives and activities that can drive the development and adoption of quality OERs to meet the emerging needs of business and employees and to foster innovation and collaboration across regions and industrial sectors.

In conclusion, the document emphasizes the potential of OER to provide business and employees with scalable and cost effective way to develop and deliver key knowledge and skills development to meet emerging industry and workforce and highlights key mechanisms to scale this potential to drive business innovation and employee development.

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