APEC's human resource development (HRD) activities are second only in importance to the trade and investment liberalization and facilitation (TILF) agenda. No other issue, apart from TILF, has drawn such universal and consistent commitment from member economies involved in the APEC process. The significance attached to HRD in APEC derives from two factors. First, few now challenge the view that in a progressively more integrated global economy, in which new technologies are increasingly the key to international competitiveness, the quality of human resources present in an economy or enterprise is the key to economic and commercial success. Improving HRD is now a sine qua non in national and enterprise planning. It follows that any efforts on this front in a regional body such as APEC will be supported, particularly where there is also advantage created for the TILF agenda. HRD for TILF is now an important sub-set of the wider HRD agenda in the region.

Secondly, the consensus around HRD makes it an ideal rallying point for institutional identity within APEC. APEC needs more than the TILF agenda to provide long-term substance. This need has three dimensions. There is a natural desire to use the framework provided by APEC for activities beyond the TILF focus. Equally, however, for economies to be involved in APEC, but not wholly convinced by the TILF model, HRD provides an area for involvement which is universally recognized and legitimized. Finally, for some economies and notably Japan, HRD is a strategic issue, central to the needs of overseas subsidiaries operating in APEC member economies.

The Institutional Framework: A Preliminary Note

To set the scene, some discussion of the APEC HRD Working Group (WG) is needed. APEC's early agenda for HRD, laid down in Beijing in 1995, was formulated for eight priority areas of work. These were:

1. • The provision of quality education for all;

2. • The development of regional labour market analyses;

3. • An increase in the supply and quality of managers, entrepreneurs, and training in the areas central to economic growth;

4. • A reduction in skill deficiencies and unemployment by designing appropriate training priority areas and outcomes;

5. • An improvement in the quality of curricula, teaching methods, and materials;

6. • An improvement in access to skill acquisition;

7. • The preparation of individuals and organizations for economic and technical change; and

8. • Support for the TILF agenda.