Human capital theory, following the work of Becker (1964), places the individual at the
center of analysis, within a rational choice framework. For human capital theorists, people
choose the type of education they need in order to acquire the types of skills necessary for a
particular career or profession. It is from this framework that ‘‘workforce development’’
and ‘‘skills training’’ is situated. In contrast, actor-network theory, as described recently by
Latour (2005), focuses on the linkages between individuals and the social worlds they
create. Participants in social networks rely on each other, learn from each other, and create
something that is larger than each individual. Actor-network theory has been used to
describe the work of scholars and scientists, who work in communities where peer-review
and collaboration is deemed essential to ‘‘innovation.’’ Yet neither of these theoretical
perspectives is comprehensive enough to imagine a fully representative Knowledge
Society where people seek to gain both individual and collective rewards. From a policy
perspective, if ‘‘skilled’’ workers are not considered from a network framework and
‘‘innovation’’ workers are not seen from human capital standpoint, systemic problems are
bound to occur. For example, labour unions, intellectual property disputes, and publicsector
entrepreneurialism are often overlooked in knowledge-centric policies that decouple
skills from innovation.