Under capitalism power flows to precisely the people who are willing to stake their money not on gambles or sure things but on testable hypotheses, thus generating knowledge and wealthfor society.
When Christopher Columbus risked his life and that of many others to complete his first voyage across the sea to the unknown, his journey led to a great wealth of knowledge and commerce for Europe.
For decades it has not only generated wealth in scientific knowledge in the field of tropical ecology but it has systematically and successfully disseminated this knowledge to professionals and the general public through education, training and awareness raising.
But if this NCO class of the corporate world is allowed to absent itself from training programmes it will takes a wealth of knowledge and experience away with it, thereby reducing the value of formal training for everyone else.