PRESENTED BY SKILLS: WHO GETS TO DEFINE THEM? A discussion session Charlotte Cahill and Nancy Hoffman, JFF April 23, 2019
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P R E S E N T E D B Y
SKILLS: WHO GETS TO DEFINE THEM?A discussion session
Charlotte Cahill and Nancy Hoffman, JFF
April 23, 2019
THREE BIG QUESTIONS
What would change if all students had the opportunity to address three questions in school:
1. What is the role of work in human lives?
1. How are careers created and developed, what are good jobs, and how does one learn about labor market needs?
1. What barriers and sorting systems must students recognize, understand, and overcome in a world where opaque forces are at play that favor the well-connected?
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT SKILLS?
How do you define the word “skill”?
What strategies for assessing students’ skills are you familiar with? Are they effective?
ARE ALL OF THESE SKILLS?
Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers. 2015. “Job Outlook 2016: Attributes Employers Want to See on New College Graduates’ Resumes.” www.naceweb.org/s11182015/employers-look-for-in-new-hires.asp
THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF SKILLSGrowth of service economy
Decline of routinized work processes
Change in emphasis: technical skills to employability skillsSource: Chris Warhurst, Chris Tilly, and Mary Gatta, “A New Social Construction of Skill” in The Oxford Handbook of Skills and Training, John Buchanan, David Finegold, Ken Mayhew, and Chris Warhurst, eds., February 2017
SHIFTING DEFINIT IONS OVER TIME
THE FOUR Cs
• Judge interactions with workersCustomers• Hires and evaluates workersCapital• Set standards for assessmentCredentialers• Define skills through professional associationsColleagues
WHO DEFINES AND ASSESSES SKILLS?
Source: Chris Warhurst, Chris Tilly, and Mary Gatta, “A New Social Construction of Skill” in The Oxford Handbook of Skills and Training, John Buchanan, David Finegold, Ken Mayhew, and Chris Warhurst, eds., February 2017
RACIAL, GENDER, AND CLASS DYNAMICS IN DEFINITIONS OF SKILL
GENDER AND THE SERVICE SECTOR
Employers understand service-sector jobs to require skills such as good customer service, communication, nurturance
Emotional labor is seen as “natural” for women
Assumption that these jobs do not require technical skills contributes to them being lower paid
AN EXAMPLE OF ASCRIBED SKILLS
Source: Chris Warhurst, Chris Tilly, and Mary Gatta, “A New Social Construction of Skill” in The Oxford Handbook of Skills and Training, John Buchanan, David Finegold, Ken Mayhew, and Chris Warhurst, eds., February 2017
Workplace culture
“Matching” employees to customer base
Skill fit
Influence of ascribed skills on workers’ skill achievement
Lack of linear connections between class and skill; being middle-class may itself be a skill
KEY RACIAL AND CLASS DYNAMICS IN DEFINITIONS OF SKILL
INTERSECTIONALITY IS A CRIT ICAL CONSIDERATION
Source: Chris Warhurst, Chris Tilly, and Mary Gatta, “A New Social Construction of Skill” in The Oxford Handbook of Skills and Training, John Buchanan, David Finegold, Ken Mayhew, and Chris Warhurst, eds., February 2017
Growing importance of employability skills leads to more subjective approaches to skills assessment
Greater tendency to ascribe skills
Role of race, class, and gender considerations in who is or isn’t deemed skilled
Sorting based on social categories
Characteristics considered “skills” are often dependent on the beholder
Blurring of achieved and ascribed skills
THREE KEY SHIFTSRESULTS OF THE CHANGING DEFINIT ION OF SKILL
Source: Chris Warhurst, Chris Tilly, and Mary Gatta, “A New Social Construction of Skill” in The Oxford Handbook of Skills and Training, John Buchanan, David Finegold, Ken Mayhew, and Chris Warhurst, eds., February 2017
THE PROBLEM OF “FIT”“At all [career] fairs, students were strongly encouraged to bring their resumes
and speak directly with firm representatives. If a representative had a sufficiently positive impression of a candidate, he or she could ask for his or her resume. If
the impression was stellar, he or she could pull him or her aside for a more formal interview.
“Whereas candidates tended to approach diversity job fairs as legitimate opportunities to get in the door, HR staff, who were typically responsible for
overseeing diversity recruitment, had a strikingly different view. In their eyes, diversity fairs were largely impression management activities.”
Source: Lauren Rivera, “Diversity within Reach: Recruitment versus Hiring in Elite Firms.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 639, Gender and Race Inequality in Management: Critical Issues, New Evidence (January 2012), pp. 71-90
As you think about your work, who have you seen that has the power to define skills?
How might the definition of skills—and the ability of young people to demonstrate them—change depending on context?
SO NOW WHAT?
If skills are socially constructed, what should young people know and do about it?
How can teachers, counselors, employers, and other adults help?
Are there implications for pathways design?
ETHNOGRAPHIES OF WORK: CAN AN EXPERIENTIAL/ACADEMIC COLLEGE
COURSE HELP?
“I had two internships in high school—one in a defense attorney’s office and a DA office. I worked with data. I sat in on cases. I got to assist in hand-picking a jury—it was really cool. I saw how you have to work twice as hard to move up if you have a black-sounding name, but I saw you could do it. I have recommendation letters so when I’m ready to go to law school, I can use them.”
– Guttman Community College Student
V I S I T U S T O D A Y A T J F F. O R G
THANK YOU!
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