The question of skill development in temporary work has so far been neglected in research and practice. The expansion and speciality of this way of earning a living--particularly as a result of the frequently changing demands on different workplaces and the strategy of lifelong learning favoured by educational policy in order to obtain and improve qualifications--make it necessary to demonstrate plans for skills development for this target group. The findings make it clear that opportunities to develop skills are essentially to be found in temporary work itself, i.e. by means of learning while working. In this form of the learning process, knowledge and aptitudes which have already been acquired are combined with capabilities which develop in the course of working. As a result, this process of working and learning produces informally acquired skills which could be documented and provide grounds for targeted support of skills in temporary work. (Contains 1 table, 6 figures and 3 footnotes.)