By education, do you mean formal education? That is necessary to be competitive, fit into the society and a lot see it as the way of building a career.
But most importantly, formal education makes self education which I think is more important easier to achieve, like a stepping stone. Many people, in fact the most successful people don't really build a career or business on what they learnt in school. But formal education is sure a good foundation and a key to elightment.
So I say education, formal education if that is what your question is about, is key in building a person (character, mind etc), business and society.