In today's highly networked society, a new learning environment is created at the individual, organizational and societal levels and this demands us to re-focus on the concept of the learning society. A 'comprehensive learning society' upholds the existing notion of the learning society but also makes a conceptional effort at overcoming its limitations.
The new socio-economic paradigm is characterized by de-industrialization, informatization, flexible production system, knowledge-based economy, networked organization, and cooperative labor-management relations. Changes in the socio-economic paradigm demands a new paradigm for human resources development. The new paradigm for human resources development is one that is demand-driven and is characterized by cooperative governance. It should also be epitomized by decentralization, localization, competency-based certification system, workplace learning, continuing education and training and lifelong learning, learner-centered learning method, and fostering of knowledge-labor and innovative capabilities. To realize a comprehensive learning society, multi-dimensional strategies need to be designed not only at the individual level but also at the corporate level as well as various organizational and governmental levels.