Putting the process back in: rethinking service sector skill

Abstract

Service skill definitions have been over-extended, by equating compliance with skill, and underdeveloped, by not recognising service jobs’ invisible social and organisational aspects. Existing approaches to determining service skill levels draw on occupational qualifications and capacity for labour market closure, on knowledge worker/ knowledgeable emotion worker dichotomies, and on the conceptual conflation of labour process deskilling, unskilled jobs and unskilled workers. The theoretical and empirical basis for a new framework identifying hitherto under-specified ‘work process skills’ is outlined. This framework allows recognition of the integrated use of awareness-shaping, relationship-shaping and coordination skills, at different levels of experience-based complexity, derived from reflexive learning and collective problem-solving in the workplace. Political struggles over the use of combinations and levels of these ‘skills of experience’ may result either in jobs designed to reduce autonomy, or in improved skill recognition and development, enhancing equity and career paths.

Service employees and self-verification: The roles of occupational stigma consciousness and core self-evaluations

“…Although some research refutes this view (e.g., Hampson and Junor, 2010) or suggests that there is diversity among call centers in the skills demanded by employers (e.g., Taylor, Mulvey, Hyman, and Bain, 2002), most research has concluded that call center work requires few unique skills (e.g., Lloyd and Payne, 2009). …”

“…Regardless of the skills deemed necessary to perform well in service jobs (e.g., Hampson and Junor, 2010), they tend to offer limited opportunities for progression, pay relatively little, and involve non-standard contracts and working hours (e.g., Goos and Manning, 2007). Not only are service jobholders forced to contend with poor job conditions, many are also faced with negative societal images of their occupation.…”

Undergraduate perceptions of the development of team-working skills

“…Regarding assessment, Hampson and Junor (2010) highlight the need to define the different attainment levels of skills as students progress through their studies.…”

How closely do Australian Training Package qualifications reflect the skills in occupations? An empirical investigation of seven qualifications

“…• 19 company case studies with 115 interviews in total; in each company, workers, a supervisor, a human resource or training manager, and a senior manager were interviewed, and each also completed and commented on a set of scales, developed in a pilot project (Smith & Teicher, 2011) to identify the extent to which the job in question required each of the national employability skills; • in most of the case studies, workers completed and commented on the 'Spotlight' tool, developed for identifying hidden skills (Hampson & Junor, 2010); and • validation of findings with industry forums for each occupation.…”