The automation of job tasks due to technological change increases the pressure on workers whose jobs consist largely of such activities. In this context, politics and science attach great importance to further training, although the benefits for affected workers have hardly been investigated. Drawing on human capital theory and the task-based…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on issues regarding the influence of skill-polarized workplace on jobs, human capital and organization from human resource development's (HRD's) perspective, this research identified 30 displaceable skills from endangered jobs and examined 423 adult employees' awareness and…

Technology shifts gears. The workers who control it need to learn how to shift gears, too. Workers brought up with universal schooling would respect authority, learn enough "geometry and mechanics" to use in their trades, keep invention alive, and finally see through "the interested complaints of faction and sedition." In other…

Technology in the workplace can raise productivity, but often the cost is deskilled jobs or unemployment for both blue- and white-collar workers. Vocational education must adjust curriculum, instruction, and research to understand how work is changing and how best to prepare workers. (SK)

Presents a model of youth transition from education to work that takes into account the disrupting effects of global economic crisis and massive computerization. Suggests that investment in new technologies reduces employment and polarizes remaining jobs to unskilled and highly skilled categories. Discusses psychosocial integration strategies…

Assesses the extent of the following types of structural unemployment in the United Kingdom: technological change, skills mismatch, geographical mismatch, demographic shifts, institutional rigidity, unemployability, and capital restructuring. Concludes that measurement is difficult and the types create segmented labor markets that obstruct the…

Although technology eliminates jobs, it can save and create jobs as well. Technological change also affects the level of skills required of the labor force. Postsecondary institutions need to ensure that the highly educated, highly skilled, adaptable, and creative labor force demanded by employers is available. (JOW)

This report addresses the degree to which retraining has met the challenge of ensuring that the American work force has adequate skills to cope with the changing world of work. Chapter 1 sketches economic, social, and technological changes that help explain why the current reactive approach needs to be more active. In chapter 2, the extensiveness…

The National Commission for Employment Policy estimates that 19 million workers--17 percent of the work force--are in jobs directly threatened by office automation, and the consequences of the displacement of clerical workers due to increasing office computerization are as serious as those from manufacturing job loss. Between 1983 and 1988, almost…

Technological innovations in factories and offices are examined in terms of 10 core issues: "high flex" workplace; control of work; organizational change; impact on skill; unemployment; educational needs and retraining; changing occupational structures; safety and health; interaction of work, leisure, and family; and quality of working life. The…

Investing in technology is investing in America's future. U.S. technology must move in a new direction to build economic strength and spur economic growth. The traditional roles of support of basic science and mission-oriented technological research must be expanded, so that the federal government plays a key role in helping private firms develop…

This report concentrates on problems of displaced blue-collar and nonprofessional white-collar workers. Chapter 1 is a summary. Chapter 2 discusses policy issues and options focused on helping people prepare for worklife changes and helping workers to cope if displacement occurs. A definition and description of worker displacement are offered in…

Researched by the Office of Technology Assistance in response to a number of Congressional committees, this summary report addresses the long-term issues that technology and certain other factors will have on U.S. agriculture during the remainder of this century. It focuses on the relationship of technology to the following: (1) agricultural…

A study examined the need for vocational counseling among two target groups of young people under the age of 28 years in Spain: young women whose chief activity is domestic work in their own homes in Madrid and young people of both sexes affected by industrial reconversion who were living on the left bank of the Bilbao Estuary. Their vocational…

Three important human capital questions must be addressed by U.S. policy makers: What are the effects of employer-sponsored training? Do employers invest enough in employee training? and How will accelerating technological change affect the need for employer-sponsored training and for complementary investments in education? Four policy…