Definition of Human Capital

Understood both as an economic term and as a sociological one, the concept of human capital refers to the wealth that can be had in a factory, company or institution in relation to the qualification of the personnel who work there, that is, the degree of training they have, the experience that each one has to their credit, the number of employees and the productivity which results from them.

In this sense, the term human capital represents the value that the number of employees (of all levels) of an institution assumes according to their studies, knowledge, capabilities and skills

And put in simpler and simpler terms, human capital is the set of human Resources that make up a company or company.

The human capital of a company is undoubtedly one of the most important elements when evaluating the general returns of the same and also to project its future possibilities, because if the staff of employees is capable of producing in accordance with and maximizing the results of the company, then, challenges can be planned in the short and medium term because it is almost certain that they will be able to face them effectively and satisfactorily.

The term human capital emerged in the eighteenth century when prominent theorists of the economy, such as Adam Smith, raised the need to stop not only in factors of a technical type if not also human when establishing the rules of good operation of a company or a economic system in general. In this way, human capital appeared as one of the most important elements to take into account since he is responsible for executing the tasks and skills of each area economical. Thus, the more valuable the human capital of a company (that is, the better trained or be prepared for the specific tasks at hand), the better the results of that task. institution.

The quality of training is a determining factor in the level of efficiency of human capital

It is important to note that human capital is closely associated with the educational quality that is plausible to receive a population or given community. Thanks to the training it is possible to develop skills, competencies, knowledge that are capable of positively influencing of course the production of the economy in general.

Now, the difference will be marked not only by formal education, but also by the learning of any other knowledge or competence that is capable of satisfactorily impacting the productivity

In this sense, the processes of training of personnel carried out by the companies themselves, that is, the company invests in training its employees because sooner or later this will be reflected in greater productivity and competitiveness in the market than intervene. That is, this training goes on the same path of for example buying more machinery.

The foregoing is not a whimsical statement, far from it, but it is amply demonstrated that those countries that have with a professionally qualified population have a better quality of life compared to others in which access to good education is more complex due to various circumstances, or where there are tremendous differences in terms of the access that those that belong to the wealthy classes to the detriment of the lower classes who have much more restricted access to everything sense.

The explanation of the term is based on economic and performance aspects, but nevertheless the concept can also be related to sociological aspects and elements, such as the access to the means of training a group of people, literacy, the future projection of certain careers or jobs, the possibility of success according to the level of education, etc. All of them are especially related to the notion that the individual cannot be reduced to statistical numbers. quantifiable in economic or mathematical terms but must be especially understood as a social phenomenon particular.