Skilled worker

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A skilled worker is any worker who has some special skill, knowledge, or (usually acquired) ability in his work. A skilled worker may have attended a college, university or technical school. Or, a skilled worker may have learned his skills on the job.

Contents

[edit] History

It could be argued that in the United States, craft unions served as the catalyst to foment a strong solidarity in favor of skilled labor in the period of the Gilded Age (1865-1900). [1]

In the early 1880s, the craft unions of skilled workers walked hand in hand with the Knights of Labor but the harmony did not last long and by 1885, the Knights' leadership became hostile to trade unions. The Knights argued that the specialization of industrialization had undermined the bargaining power of skilled labor. This was partly true in the 'eighties but it had not yet made obsolete the existence of craft unionism.[2]

"...The impact of scientific management upon skilled workers should not be overstressed, especially in the period before World War I."[3]

The period between 1901 and 1925 signals the rise and fall of the Socialist Party of America which depended on skilled workers. In 1906, with the publication of The Jungle, the most popular voice of socialism in the early XXth century, Upton Sinclair gave them ignorant "...Negroes and the lowest foreigners - Greeks, Roumanians, Sicilians and Slovaks" hell.[4]

There was a divergence in status within the working class between skilled and unskilled labor due to the fall in prices of some products and the skilled workers' rising standard of living after the depression of 1929. Skilled workers were the heart of the labor movement before World War I but during the 1920s, they lost much of their enthusiasm and the movement suffered thereby.[5]

In the XXth century, in Nazi Germany, the lower class was subdivided into agricultural workers, unskilled and semi-skilled workers, skilled craft workers, other skilled workers and domestic workers.[6]

After the end of World War II, West Germany surpassed France in the employment of skilled labor needed at a time when industrialization was sweeping Europe at a fast pace. West Germany's preponderance in the field of education, the training of skilled workers in technical schools, was the main factor to outweigh the balance between the two countries. In the period between 1950 and 1970, the number of technicians and engineers in West Germany rose from 160,000 to approximately 570,000 by promoting skilled workers through the ranks so that those who were performing skilled labor in 1950 had already become technicians and engineers by 1970.[7]

In the first decade of the XXIst century, the average wage of a highly skilled machinist in the United States of America is $3,000 to $4,000 per month. In China, the average wage for a factory worker is $150 a month.[8]

[edit] Overview

While most (if not all) jobs require some level of skill, "skilled workers" bring some degree of expertise to the performance of a given job. For example, a factory worker who inspects new televisions for whether they turn on or off can fulfil this job with little or no knowledge of the inner workings of televisions. However, someone who repairs televisions would be considered a skilled worker, since such a person would possess the knowledge to be able to identify and correct problems with a television.

In addition to the general use of the term, various agencies or governments, both federal and local, may require skilled workers to meet additional specifications. Such definitions can affect matters such as immigration, licensure and eligibility for travel or residency. For example, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, skilled worker positions are not seasonal or temporary and require at least two years of experience or training.

Skilled work varies in type (i.e. - service versus labour), education requirements (ie - apprenticeship versus graduate college) and availability (freelance versus on-call). Such differences are often reflected in titling, opportunity, responsibility and (most significantly) salary.

Both skilled and non-skilled workers are vital and indispensable for the smooth-running of a free-market and/or capitalist society. According to Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, "...Enhancing elementary and secondary school sensitivity to market forces should help restore the balance between the demand for and the supply of skilled workers in the United States."[9]

Generally, however, individual skilled workers are more valued to a given company than individual non-skilled workers, as skilled workers tend to be more difficult to replace. As a result, skilled workers tend to demand more in the way of financial compensation because of their efforts. According to Greenspan, corporate managers are willing to bid up pay packages to acquire skilled workers as they identify the lack of skilled labor as one of today's greatest problems. [10]

Commodification or Commoditization

In both skilled and non-skilled labor alike, the foundation is that a person is contributing, not that it is contributing with a special skill or talent. The relevance of a skill or talent is important to its value; as a skill becomes increasingly specialized the fit becomes increasingly more relatively important than the level of talent. Highly paid older workers who have acquired much skill through years of experience are known in both America and other countries such as Germany for taking up to a year using compensation and savings to find again the right fit for their high skills. Low skilled workers are known in America for taking the first opening, a job search only extended involuntarily when told repeatedly "there are no openings" or "business is down" (a.k.a."jobs Americans just won't take"). As highly skilled work becomes increasingly commoditized (commodification or commoditization appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1975 as the transformation of goods and services into commodities), economically speaking, "skilled work" becomes just "work." In the face of international competition, the amount of time a skilled worker will tend to spend searching may tend to increase at the very time his expected new position becomes less and less available. This was noticed by German politicians who came up with a proposal to alter the current scheme of government benefits, to disincentivise such workers from not settling for positions below their skill level. A problem that might be sited with such schemes is the case where overly specialized workers are slotted into jobs unrelated to their training while new workers are still being trained for just those same jobs; it would seem to be a waste of the investment; one might reasonably say that either use the workers that you have or stop spending money and people's time on education towards those fields: one way or the other, but not both.[11]

Not to negate the value of more fully allocating highly skilled labor, but allocation of lower-skilled labor is also an issue. Unskilled work is vital to an economy and less vital per capita to an employer. This is an Economics issue. How to rectify this to further optimise the functioning of an economy? Senator Teddy Kennedy has proposed changes to Social Security to "honor" this hitherto unrecognized portion of national value produced by the lowest paid Americans. On Minnesota Radio, there was recently a discussion about the question of a national salary supplement in South Africa for the lowest paid workers. All such proposals recognise the vital function of unskilled labor. Skilled labor must face ever higher competition from itself; correct allocation of skilled labor becomes an ever greater issue; the hitherto unrecognized value of unskilled labor is beginning to be recognized by governments; human and machine capital makes greater production, as David Ricardo long ago pointed out, increasing the value of basic human labor as its cost of production, cost of living, decreases. Ever harder to master science, ever more skilled or at least quantitative competition or demanding task masters, these put ever more people out of work or make their work ever harder or their employers ever more aloof and harsh; as this happens, the relevance of machinery, of science and of skilled workers decreases. The relevancy of skilled workers decreases to whom? To those put out of work. Reflecting on all these factors, what can be the future of skilled work? e. g. In the computer industry, workers will have to know programming, automation software, graphics interface, client/server environment and open systems to take advantage of employment changes in the field.[12]

Employers cannot so easily monopolize the many soft skills encapsulated in each skilled laborer, each being free in the post-feudal ages to seek the highest payed situation. This implies that: it is likely that employers more highly value skilled labor, in comparison to its economic and social value for the society as a whole, than less skilled labor; it is likely that employers also under-value the act of supplying education and training in comparison to its aggregate economic value. That capital that is used in common, such as education or infrastructure, tends to be under-valued by the market system leads to frequent proposals by legislators towards investment in such purposes. The fact that less skilled labor is valued less highly by individual companies than higher skilled labor means that the aggregate measure of high skilled labor for the society as a whole will be higher than its actual value in comparison with low skilled labor. As such, while investment in education and training will be under invested if done by employers alone, it is likely that the government over-invests in such activities. This explains the case where more graduates are continually being asked for in fields of study where the current stock of workers is under-employed. A more careful study of this topic might correct such cases and direct new students and new trainees into new fields more efficiently, as well as provide impetus to some kind of stipend system for participation in low skilled labor. If some of the highly energetic top students were given stipends to do low skilled labor, it might invigorate these industries and "fields of study." So too might apply to the lower stage of education, children's education through the Bachelors. In these great emphasis is placed on provision of free and low-cost education; perhaps the Latin American model could take a closer look; there, parents get a small payment for the attendance of their children in primary school (as well as for vaccinations). Where training and education are distributed freely, but the life-support of the student receives little or no consideration, it shows where the emphasis is, on the skill rather than on the participation. But participation is the base. If children in the first world countries could receive a stipend for education, such as is provided in some poorer countries, elementary through middle school, then many of the less motivated students who appear to be bad at school would shine like stars in their early grades as they begin to do in high school and college where the goal is in sight. For adults, and the highly skilled, quick and accurate allocation of labor, without duplication of effort, will need to be a focus: as well as a better focus, such as public stipends for low-skilled work, on full participation over particular skill. The participation of skilled workers in the design process offers an important contribution to successful design and hi-quality products.[13]

The skill of reading and skills in general

American educator Mortimer J. Adler, former editor of Encyclopedia Britannica Great Books of the Western World in writing about the skill of reading e. g. one possessed by a Reader's Digest editor in particular and referring to any skill in general declares, "... Every action takes place in a particular situation, always in the here and now and under a particular set of circumstances. You cannot act in general. The kind of practical judgment that immediately precedes action must be highly particular. It can be expressed in words, but seldom is. It is almost never found in books, because the author of a practical book cannot envisage the concrete practical situations in which his readers may have to act. Try as he will to be helpful, he cannot give them concrete practical advice. Only another person in exactly the same situation could do that." Then he goes on to explain that practical books can be helpful by stating general rules that apply to different situations.[14]

[edit] Education

Education can be received in a variety of manners, and is acknowledged through various means. Below is a sampling of educational conventions. (According to Greenspan, math skill more than anything else is required to achieve skilled-job status and is the one skill too many high school grads lack ).[15]

  • On-the-job training - (Examples: fashion model, telecommunicator, entertainer)
  • Apprenticeship - (Examples: welder, mechanic, farmer, mason)
  • Vocational certification - (Examples: cosmetologist, dental assistant, licensed nurse practitioner, chef)
  • Associate Degree - (Examples: legal assistant, commercial artist)
  • Undergraduate Degree - (Examples: school teacher, software developer, nurse, coach)
  • Professional Degree - (Examples: Architect, lawyer, medical doctor, psychiatrist)
  • Graduate Degree - (Examples: Astronaut, international businessperson, professor)
  • Other - Education can be received in other manners other than, and sometimes in conjunction with, what is mentioned above. For example, summer or post-graduate internships are very common for persons with advanced education but little experience. Also, many fields, including medicine, may require re-certification for various procedures or the profession in general. - (Examples: Post-doctorate fellow, medical resident, software intern)(General Motors university system with sixteen functional colleges and McDonald Hamburger University).[16]

[edit] Electronics

In American industry, there has been a change in the concentration of skilled workers from the areas of past economic might e. g. steel, automobile, textile and chemicals to the more recent (21st century) industry developments e. g. computers, telecommunications and information technology which is commonly stated to represent a plus rather than a minus for the American standard of living.[17]

[edit] Procurement

Due to globalisation, regional shortages of skilled workers, migration, outsourcing, and other factors, the methods of procuring skilled workers has changed in recent years.

[edit] Migration

Brain Drain

All countries are in a process of change and transition which makes possible the migration of skilled workers from places of lower to higher opportunities in training and better working conditions. Although materialistic rewards play a role in skilled workers migration, it is the lack of security, opportunity and suitable rewards in the homeland that fundamentally makes this massive movement of people possible, going from places of lesser development to affluent societies.[18]

Some developing countries see the migration of domestically trained professionals abroad not as a drain but as a gain, a "brain bank" from which to draw at a price; for these professionals, on their return with their accumulated skills, would contribute to the growth of the homeland; cultural factors favor the return of these professionals for a short or a long while.[19]

South Africa

Under Apartheid, the development of skilled workers was concentrated on the white inhabitants but after the socio-political upheaval of the 1990s, these same skilled workers are emigrating, a highly sensitive subject in contemporary South African Society. The media in South Africa has increasingly covered the "brain drain" in the 1990s. Starting in 1994, when a democratically elected government took control of the reins of power, official South African statistics show a greater emigration of skilled workers. The validity of this data has been questioned.[20][21]

Highly skilled workers migration intensity

The demand for Information Technology(IT) skilled workers is on the rise. This has led to a lessening of the immigration restrictions prevalent in various countries. Migration of skilled workers from Asia to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia is common, specially among students and the temporary migration of IT skilled workers. Data shows, however, that the migration of skilled workers from Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and France to the United States is only temporary and is more like a brain exchange than a "brain drain".[22]

World Bank Policy on Fair Exchange

Brain Drain literature focuses mainly on the high cost of skilled migration for the homeland or sending country. This loss can be partly offset if the migration is only temporary. Developing countries invest heavily in education. However, temporary migration can generate a substantial remittance of capital flow to the homeland. This flow of capital plus the additional knowledge gained would do more than compensate the homeland for the investment made originally in educating the skilled worker. The key to temporary migration is a change in the trade and immigration policies of the receiving country and a stepping-up of the demands of the sending country for the return migration of skilled workers.[23][24]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Antoine Joseph/Berry/Ingram Skilled Worker's Solidarity, pp. 73-4, Taylor & Francis, 2000 ISBN 978-0815333364
  2. ^ Philip S. Foner History of the Labor Movement in the United States, pp. 78-9, International Publishers Co., 1975 ISBN 978-0717803880
  3. ^ Dirk Hoerder American Labor and Immigration History, 1877-1920s, p. 153, University of Illinois Press, 1983 ISBN 978-0252009631
  4. ^ Robert H. Wiebe Self-Rule, pp. 132-3, University of Chicago Press, 1995 ISBN 978-0226895628
  5. ^ Y. S. Brenner A Short History of Economic Progress, p. 213, Routledge, 1969 ISBN 978-0714612775
  6. ^ Detlef Mülhberger Hitler's Followers, p. 19, Routledge, 1991 ISBN 978-0415008020
  7. ^ Norbert Altmann/Christoph Köhler/Pamela Meil Technology and Work in German Industry, p. 279, Routledge, 1992 ISBN 978-0415079266
  8. ^ Thomas L. Friedman The World Is Flat, p. 147, Macmillan, 2007 ISBN 978-0374292782
  9. ^ Alan Greenspan The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World, p. 405, The Penguin Press, 2007 ISBN 978-1-59420-131-8
  10. ^ ibid. p. 398
  11. ^ The Worker and the Stateby Arthur Davis Dean
  12. ^ Occupational Outlook Handbook, p. 474, Mac-Graw Hill Professional, 2006-2007 edition ISBN 978-0071472883
  13. ^ Douglas Schuler/Aki Namioka Participatory Design: principles and practices, p. 41, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1993 ISBN 978-0805809510
  14. ^ Mortimer J. Adler How to Read a Book, p. 193, Simon & Schuster, 1972 SBN 671-21280-X; 1st ed. 1940
  15. ^ The Age of Turbulance, ibid. p. 404
  16. ^ The Age of Turbulence, ibid. p. 402
  17. ^ The Age of Turbulance, ibid. p. 395
  18. ^ G. Beijer Brain Drain, p. 1, Brill Archive, 1972 ISBN 978-9024714537
  19. ^ Dean Baker/Geral A. Epstein/Robert Pollin Globalization and Progressive Economic Policy, p. 362, Cambridge University Press, 1998 ISBN 978-0521643764
  20. ^ International Mobility of the Highly Skilled, p. 214, OECD Publishing, 2002 ISBN 978-9264196896
  21. ^ International Mobility of the Highly Skilled
  22. ^ Adam Jolly OECD Economies and the World Today, p. 213, Kogan Page Publishers, 2003 ISBN 978-0749437817
  23. ^ Richard S. Newfarmer Global Economic Prospects 2004, p. 158, World Bank Publications, 2003 ISBN 978-0821355824
  24. ^ World Bank: Global Economic Prospects, 2004
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