Foreign countries find industrialized construction accelerates building and reduces costs but creates problems as well. (Editor)

The author suggests that technical colleges expand their efforts to provide support, motivation, and retraining for dislocated workers. In addition to technical skills, he suggests that dislocated workers should study the social sciences to strengthen intellectual skills that will be useful in goal setting and decision making. (CH)

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)

It has been suggested that older workers may be particuarly vulnerable to the obsolescence process. One definition of obsolescence directly implies that the obsolescence construct is a function of two elements, the job and the person. New technologies, new products, and new methods and procedures can result in job changes which in turn can compel…

Presents the views of the Consortium for Worker Education (New York, New York), which advocates a formal schooling system to upgrade the skills of the American worker. The first step toward systemic worker education would be the passage of federal legislation to allow state and local governments to establish Workforce Development Boards to provide…

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 study indicated that the modern manager either lacks the skills basic to effective dictation or the confidence to exercise them. A primary objective in business courses would be to establish dictation as a desired complement to management competencies and skills. Without managers who can dictate, the training of secretaries to take dictation has…

Reports on changes that will affect the labor force and the workplace. Trends include (1) the crumbling skill base, (2) the shifting skill focus, (3) the shift from physical to mental labor, (4) technology management, and (5) avoidance of obsolescence. (CH)

Two myths about high technology are that it will be the primary source of new jobs and that it will vastly upgrade the skill requirements of jobs. Evidence does not support these myths. Most new jobs will not be in high tech fields, and technology will reduce the skill requirements. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that high tech…

The author looks at the Canadian short-term employment model and then examines characteristics of the Japanese employment model (recruitment methods, matching rewards to performance and investment, dealing with skill obsolescence and aging, and the advantages of Japan's long-term model). (CT)

The changes to be effected by high technology in both projected employment growth and existing jobs seem to require significant changes in the American educational system. However, government estimates for the period 1978-90 suggest that employment growth will favor jobs that require little or no training beyond the high school level (for…

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…

This report presents the findings of a survey of personnel changes resulting from the installation of electronic-data processing equipment. It is concerned primarily with (1) the nature and source of staff in electronic-data processing units, and (2) the extent and nature of staff displacements resulting from the introduction of electronic-data…