Training and innovation: the Japanese way

The assertion that Japan's competitive strength in manufacturing is due to her numerical superiority in engineers has been widespread in Britain in recent years. It has been repeatedly argued that the economic performance of British manufacturing has been impaired by the shortage of engineers. This article argues that the real source of competitive strength of Japanese industry lies in the way in which firms develop and utilise the talents of their engineers through their day-to-day work activities and their approach towards the research and development of new products. It also looks at the key features of the Japanese approach to the development and utilisation of the skills of engineers and illustrates how these have contributed to rapid product innovation