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Learning about the skills, talents, and efforts people contribute to the production process.
Imagine you have all the wood, nails, and hammers in the world, but no one knows how to build. Would you ever have a house to live in?
Human resources are the people who use their time, energy, and brains to make things or help others. In economics, we look at three types of resources: natural (from the earth), capital (tools and buildings), and human. Without the human part, the other resources wouldn't do much! For example, a tractor is a capital resource, but it needs a human resource—the farmer—to drive it and grow food.
Think about your favorite pizza place. To get a pizza to your table, many human resources are involved: 1. The Chef who prepares the dough. 2. The Server who brings the food to you. 3. The Manager who makes sure the shop has enough cheese and pepperoni.
Quick Check
If you go to a library, who is the human resource that helps you find a book?
Answer
The librarian.
Not every person can do every job. Different jobs require different skills. A skill is an ability that you learn through practice. Some people also have natural talents, like being very fast at running or having a great singing voice. To be a successful human resource, you usually need a mix of both! A baker needs the skill of measuring ingredients, while a scientist needs the skill of observing tiny details.
Building a house requires a team of people with different specialized skills: 1. An Architect uses math to draw the plans. 2. A Carpenter uses tools to build the wooden frame. 3. An Electrician installs the wires so the lights turn on. Each person is a human resource with a different 'tool belt' of skills.
Quick Check
What is one specific skill a bus driver needs to have?
Answer
The skill of driving a large vehicle safely or knowing the city map.
Why do people go to school? They are 'investing' in their own human resources! Education and training help people gain more skills. The more skills a person has, the more 'productive' they become. This means they can do more work or better work in the same amount of time. If a typist practices for hours a week, they might go from typing words per minute to words per minute!
Becoming a pilot takes a lot of training: 1. First, they spend years in college learning about science and weather. 2. Next, they spend hundreds of hours in a flight simulator ( hours). 3. Finally, they practice flying with an expert teacher. This long process turns a student into a highly valuable human resource.
Which of these is an example of a human resource?
Why is training important for workers?
A person's natural talent for drawing can be part of their human resource contribution.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, try to identify three different human resources you see on your way to school (like a bus driver, a crossing guard, or a shop owner).
Practice Activity
Pick a job you think is cool. Write down two skills you would need to learn and one type of training you would need to do that job.