Research on the effects of numerical control (NC) machining on the skills of machinists presents mixed results. Interviews with a small group of machinists experienced in both conventional and NC matching suggest seven major factors that affect whether NC automation changes the overall skill level. The deskilling hypothesis is not supported by…

Braverman and others argue that capitalism continues to degrade and deskill work. The author presents theoretical, empirical, and methodological criticisms that highlight methodological weaknesses in the deskilling approach. (SK)

Worker surveys and interviews with workers, managers, and unions explored the impact of technological change and reorganization at General Motors' plant in Linden, New Jersey. Skilled trades workers experienced skill upgrading and increased responsibility, whereas production workers underwent deskilling and were increasingly subordinated to the…

A study was conducted to gain insight into how to persuade those in fields where job opportunities are declining to take advantage of existing retraining programs in order to avoid future displacement. Research was conducted through a series of focus groups in Chicago, Louisville, and Davenport. Participants in these sessions included men and…

A study of the software industry, in which required skills change rapidly and skills shortages frequently occur, showed how work projects were designed with restricted opportunities for workers to acquire new skills. Skill development was not valued by management. The industry may thus be abetting its own skills shortage. (SK)

A cross-sectional study of 842 faculty who served as department heads between 1965-92 was compared with 170 in a panel study for whom earnings were estimated using a personal effects model. The average chair received a 12% wage premium for administrative service. Skill depreciation was most severe and wage growth most adversely affected in the…

Data from Bureau of Labor Statistics research projects indicate that the pace of technological advancement varies significantly from industry to industry and few employees have been laid off as a result of these changes. Implications for industry concern productivity and retraining. (CH)

Thousands of workers have been dislocated from jobs in the textile and apparel industries as a result of recessions and structural changes in the economy. Because of the large concentrations of female workers in these industries, women have been particularly vulnerable to dislocation. This study examined job dislocation and factors that affect…

Analyzes the sex ratio, national origins, age distribution, and qualification levels of Australian universities' education faculties; forecasts the effects of these universities' lack of growth, particularly on the quality of faculty members' work and on the relevance of their specialties. (Author/MCG)

the document addresses the question of the degree to which United States Air Force (USAF) pilot skills deteriorate as a function of reduced or deleted aircraft flying time. An examination of the results of several studies concerning the effects of periods of inactivity on pilot skill retention and subsequent retraining requirements indicate that a…

In 1989, the Industrial Research and Development Advisory Committee (IRDAC) of the European Community established a Working Party on education and training issues relevant to industry. A subgroup on skill shortages considered the issue from the European and macro-economic point of view. It examined such skills shortages issues as demographic…

A study identified alternative models of short-term upgrading and updating training for employed workers in business and industry. In phase 1, a literature review provided the basis for a nine-cell matrix that conceptualized alternative models of industry-based training as a function of the skill level the training addressed and the degree of…

A survey was conducted of the want ad sections of Sunday newspapers in 14 cities in the United States and of Saturday newspapers in 3 Canadian cities in February 1990 to determine what qualifications employers required of secretaries. Data from 4,500 individual ads were tabulated. The survey tracked 34 types of information in secretarial ads…

Reported is a validation study of the Dubin technical updating model, one which identifies variables that may be combined with expectancy theory to predict whether or not engineers will need technical updating. The basic hypothesis is that the likelihood of engaging in updating activities is a function of individual motivation and characteristics…

This document reports the results of work in identifying promising approaches to the provision of technological update to vocational/technical teachers and barriers as well as facilitators to the use of those approaches. (Technological update refers to the technical, as opposed to pedagogical, knowledge and skills needed by vocational teachers to…