Historically, regional competitive advantages were derived from natural resources, ranging from minerals to access to trading routes. However, economic, social, and cultural dynamics—propelled by rapid technological advancements and globalization—have significantly reshaped regional competition. A region’s competitive advantage is no longer dictated solely by its access to natural resources; instead, it is increasingly rooted in its people – its human capital.

Over thirty years ago, Ari De Geus argued that an organization’s “ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage.” This principle now extends to regional labour markets, yet few regions possess the agile and adaptive systems necessary to meet increasingly dynamic demands. This challenge arises because the processes underlying the development and deployment of human capital in many regions remain anchored to their 19th-century industrial manufacturing foundations. These processes involve batch entry (e.g., age), standardized delivery (e.g., classrooms), and quality assurance through conventional assessments. While few would dispute the transformative impact of the current learning system on society, many stakeholders— including learners, learning providers, employers, credentialing bodies, and policymakers—recognize that it is not adequately equipped to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving labour market. Consequently, there is a growing gap between human capital supply and labour market demands.

This increased volatility has created a situation where no single stakeholder, whether a government, educational institution or employer, can fully meet labour market demands. Recognizing this, the Canadian Business/Higher Education Roundtable called for “a fresh approach to meeting the challenges at the intersection of business, education, and employment.” We propose that advancements in supply chain management over the past decade offer a unique “fresh approach” to optimizing the development and deployment of human capital. To achieve this, we introduce the Regional Open Loop Network (ROLN), an integrated human capital supply chain encompassing learners, learning providers, employers, credentialing bodies, and policymakers.

ROLN is envisioned as a collaborative and open network with diverse learning experiences beyond traditional classroom settings. This encompasses employment, volunteerism, artistic endeavours, athletic participation, and engagement with asynchronous resources. This open supply chain approach fosters a more inclusive understanding of learning, recognizing the various modalities and environments through which human capital can be developed.

The vision of ROLN is to transform the current fragmented learning system by establishing mechanisms to integrate all certified, non-certified, and informal learning into a unified human capital supply chain. ROLN aims to optimize this integration by embedding coordination mechanisms that monitor and synchronize human capital development with labour market demands. To deliver this, it requires a harmonized competency taxonomy and assessments decoupled from specific learning pathways. In this model, learners are empowered to choose their preferred learning pathways—classroom-based, self-directed, hybrid, or apprenticeship—while ensuring consistent, rigorous competency assessments recognized by the labour market.

Keywords: Human capital, economic development, education policy, employment.