Subject and purpose of work: This paper presents the development of human capital on the labour market of the Wielkopolskie Voivodeship in 2004-2017. Materials and methods: The study uses methods of literature review and comparative analysis based on data provided by Statistics Poland. Results: The results of the analysis show that constant development of human capital is taking place in the Wielkopolskie Voivodeship, and its level measured by the number of students and graduates of universities, as well as the number of registered patents is comparable to the average in Poland. The high quality of human capital contributed to achieving above-average economic results and household incomes. Conclusions: Development of human capital and raising professional qualifications at post-graduate studies was particularly important in the period of negative impact on the Polish economy of the financial crises of 2007-2009 and 2010-2012. A combination of higher education and innovative abilities, as well as involvement in R&D contributed to the increased competitiveness of the voivodeship's economy.