ERIC Number: ED505318
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2003-Jul
Pages: 60
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: ISBN-0-6623-4916-4
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
New Forms of Work Organization, Skills and Training. Final Report. Working Paper Series
Eschuk, Craig
Human Resources Development Canada
This study addresses the issue of how new forms of work organization (NFWO) are affecting job skill requirements. Practices such as job rotation, problem-solving teams and self-directed workgroups are thought to increase job skill requirements because they tend to broaden job responsibilities. The study uses the 1999 and 2000 waves of the Workplace Employee Survey (WES) to examine how participation in these three new forms of work organization affects skills needs. As with studies from other countries, this study suggests that these new forms of work organization do lead to new job skill requirements. Moreover, to some extent firms use training to meet the increased skill needs associated with these practices. It is also likely that firms make greater use of existing skills possessed by their employees or to some extent forsake training, because it is too costly. It is also found that employees reporting increased technological complexity since the start of the job are much more likely to have increased skill requirements. This suggests that "more complex," often computer-based, technologies tend to eliminate routine tasks from jobs and introduce more cognitively demanding tasks. Given this tendency, the principal issues for public policy are to what extent the use and benefits of NFWO are limited by skill deficiencies amongst segments of the working population and to what extent the introduction of NFWO may limit the labour market prospects of individuals without a post-secondary education. Appendices include: (1) Employer and Employee Questions on Job Rotation, Problem-Solving Teams and Self-Directed Work-Groups; (2) Employee Questions on Job-Related Training Provided or Paid by the Employer; (3) Definitions of Selected Independent Variables Used in this Study; and (4) Variable Means, 1999 and 2000. A bibliography is also provided. (Contains 9 tables and 21 footnotes.) [This paper is available in French under the title: "Nouvelles formes d'organisation du travail, competences et formation."]
Descriptors: Job Skills, Problem Solving, Occupational Surveys, Employee Attitudes, Emerging Occupations, Employment Practices, Incidence, On the Job Training, Industrial Training, Participation, Educational Needs, Cognitive Mapping, Research Projects, Research Reports, Job Enrichment, Labor Force Development, Foreign Countries
Human Resources Development Canada. Service Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0J9, Canada. Tel: 1-800-926-9105; Fax: 613-941-1827; Web site: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/home.shtml
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Human Resources Development Canada, Applied Research Branch
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A