It Ain't What You do, it's the Way that You do it: Production Organisation and Skill Utilisation in Commercial Vehicles

Abstract

New paradigms of work organisation espousing a radical break in production systems assert a natural identity between advanced manufacturing and utilisation of skilled labour. Using findings from a comparative project on the commercial vehicle industry in Sweden, Austria and the UK, the paper aims to unpack the theory and practice of new forms of production. It does identify common tendencies within advanced manufacturing, notably a growth in cognitive and extra-functional abilities, normally within a team working context. But this remains distinct from any version of craft or professional labour and there are marked national differences in managerial preferences of the type of labour perceived to be necessary for more flexible work organisation. The emphasis is on varied routes to the creation of skilled labour, with an extended view of skill formation that focuses on what firms do in the labour process as well as what the state does in education and training.

The Economic Aims of Education

“…For a general account see Ashton and Green (1996); for a general explanation of a skill equilibrium see Finegold (1991). For examples from particular industries, see Prais, Jarvis and Wagner (1989), Thompson et al (1995), Mason et al (1997), Clarke and Wall (1996). For recent discussions of the status of the UK as an LSE, see Keep and Mayhew (1999).…”

Clashing institutional interests in skills between government and industry: An analysis of demand for technical and soft skills of graduates in the UK

“…A balanced mix of both technical and social skills appears being important (Thompson et al, 1995;Shibata, 2001) in a knowledge-based economy (Grugulis, 2007) that capitalises on workers' specialisation and requires duty-specific technical skills. Nevertheless, a shift from manufacturing towards a 'service' economy has generated increasing demand for a softskilled workforce (Lloyd & Payne, 2009).…”

Management Innovation in the UK Consulting Industry

“…A focus on soft skills is apparent in manufacturing (Thompson et al . 1995) but it is the rise of the service sector and focus on customers and clients that have materially contributed to much of their prominence.…”