Having entered the industrial age, the Berlin Government had come to recognize the importance of population, especially laborers with a certain level of knowledge.
The Kingdom of Prussia had been one of the first countries in the world to complete compulsory education, while the Rhineland was also the most industrially developed region of the Kingdom of Prussia, gathering a large number of foundational talents.
These talents were precisely what the Kingdom of Prussia needed most at present. During the early stages of industrial development, demand for highly skilled talent was not great; instead, ordinary technical workers were in greatest demand.
After the outbreak of the Second Industrial Revolution, Austria had managed to overtake Britain and France not because Austrian technology was particularly advanced, nor because Franz possessed such extraordinary foresight. The most crucial factor was still its large number of engineers.
Without enough foundational talent, no matter how advanced the technology was, it could not be rapidly translated into industrial production.
As industrial technology developed, the demand for foundational talent grew ever greater. The compulsory education systems pursued by countries in later generations were the result of market forces driving them forward.
The old-established empires of the original timeline possessed abundant resources, yet fell behind during the Second Industrial Revolution because they lost out in the number of foundational talents.
By the time they realized it, it was already too late. Their competitors would not stand still and give them several decades to cultivate talent.
The Kingdom of Prussia had always maintained heavy military spending, yet its domestic economy had not collapsed. Apart from the Berlin Government's strong political skills, the advantage in the quality of its population was also an important factor.
In theory, anyone who had completed compulsory education had the potential to become an ordinary technical worker.