3.2 Constantly building and expanding the knowledge a person has and uses in daily life is another important aspect of human capital stock accumulation. This is equally important both for children and adults. From a human capital perspective it is important to secure access to education at all ages through quality early years of education and continued involvement in gaining new knowledge through Lifelong Learning Programmes. In regards to early education, it is necessary to: a) ensure that all children have access to good quality education, including early childhood education for kindergartens; b) personalise the learning process, so that it is tailored to the needs of different students and allow for greater cooperation with parents; c) provide equal opportunities to study for people with different socio-economic status through the development of scholarship programmes and loans. In regards to adult learning, it should be seen as an important tool for “extending” the productive age of a person and as an opportunity for the inter-generational transfer of knowledge and skills. Lifelong learning should be also seen as an integral part of the future social security and pension systems reform. Ideally it should be integrated with professional qualifications and an upgrade in various forms of distance learning (blended learning and e-learning). 3.3 Active Social Policy mechanisms in Poland, understood as providing equal opportunities, and not just income from social transfers, should be used as a tool for building human capital. In this regards, priority should be given to employment as a viable form of social inclusion (from welfare to workfare) with benefits going far beyond incomes. Incentives should be introduced to make mobility between regions easier (supporting the development of the housing market, to transport infrastructure, to supporting the development of ICT – remote work) in order to be able to work in accordance with competences, regardless of the place of residence.
4. Digital engagement is not directly correlated with the level of human development in regions – even in the poorer parts of Poland, the Internet is actively used. This begs the question of whether the different populations possess the competencies to use the internet most effectively for human development or is the Internet in some areas unavailable. The part of the society that possesses competencies Part of the society possesses competencies which are not being used to their fullest potential because of human capital constraints. It means lower levels of human development have been a factor slowing down digital engagement. It also means that the potential digital engagement has for boosting human development in the regions is still untapped. Previous studies in this field confirm that an Internet connection may increase development chances at the national and international level for the area and the people living there. Recommendations: 4. In order to increase the endogenous growth potential of regions, it is necessary to invest in telecommunications infrastructure and the development of digital competencies of both older and younger Poles. 4.1 It is necessary to expand wireless Internet access, and to made unlimited broadband available in the entire country, but particularly in less urbanised areas. Properly used technologies can be an important factor of human development change in peripheral areas. 4.2 In order to tap the potential of the digital revolution for entrepreneurship in the peripheral areas, it is necessary to align copyright and intellectual property rights with the conditions of a networked society. The key issue is to establish fair use and not to block the flow of information, including the cases of cloud storage of information and the operations performed on potentially sensitive data.
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