90 likes | 331 Views
Two Types of Construction Training:. General associated with handicraft production greater level of worker control over production methods skills are transferable so worker mobility between firms is high many employers benefit from utilizing the “well-rounded” worker. Specific Training.
E N D
Two Types of Construction Training: General • associated with handicraft production • greater level of worker control over production methods • skills are transferable so worker mobility between firms is high • many employers benefit from utilizing the “well-rounded” worker
Specific Training • associated with standardized production • greater level of employer control over work processes • technology investment to replace craft skills • greater division of labor ( task specialization) • skills have more limited transferability so mobility is lower • greater attachment (dependence) to single employer • firms must recoup their own training costs so there is a greater incentive to hold on to skilled workers
Can Any Type of Work Be Considered Unskilled? • Name a job that requires no thought whatsoever about organization of tasks or how work is to be performed. • To some extent, skill development is the collection of productive knowledge and its reorganization by employers. However, industrial engineers can’t possibly make all decisions about the organization of work.
Unskilled Work? • Occupational shifts into skilled work cannot easily account for the last century's mass “upgrading” of farm labor to manufacturing work. • How much of farm work really was "unskilled?"
Unskilled? • The adoption of computer technology in higher education clerical jobs presents a similar skill definition problem. For many workers, computers represent a more efficient typewriter. • There has been no widespread occupational shift to high wage work as a result of this technical innovation.
What About Education? • Definitions of skill depend on the amount of education and training necessary to fill an occupational category. Often, these definitions do not include cognitive ability or knowledge. • How much do educational credentials serve as the basis for staffing desirable jobs? • Are Harvard graduates more “skilled” than those from IU?
Predictions for the Future According to Andre Gorz: • Future workforce is segmented not only by skills but by attachment to individual firms. • Stable core of elite employees whose skills are maintained by employer through continuous in-house training. • An administrative periphery performing routine monitoring and servicing tasks. • An external workforce employed as independent contractors includes both highly skilled professionals and low-status service workers • A temporary workforce rotates in and out of the labor market.