'Simple Jobs' for Disqualified Workers. Employability at the Bottom of the Labour Market
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Autor:innen
Autor:in (Körperschaft)
Publikationsdatum
2021
Typ der Arbeit
Studiengang
Typ
04B - Beitrag Konferenzschrift
Herausgeber:innen
Suter, Christian
Cuvi, Jacinto
Balsiger, Philip
Nedelcu, Mihaela
Herausgeber:in (Körperschaft)
Betreuer:in
Übergeordnetes Werk
The Future of Work
Themenheft
DOI der Originalpublikation
Reihe / Serie
Reihennummer
Jahrgang / Band
Ausgabe / Nummer
Seiten / Dauer
199-221
Patentnummer
Verlag / Herausgebende Institution
Seismo
Verlagsort / Veranstaltungsort
Zürich
Auflage
Version
Programmiersprache
Abtretungsempfänger:in
Praxispartner:in/Auftraggeber:in
Zusammenfassung
Employability is a key issue in discourses and policies addressing the social consequences of labour market transformation. Knowledge and skills are commonly seen as core conditions of employability. Those labeled as unskilled, because they lack formal qualifications, are discursively constructed for what they are unable to be and do – they are disqualified as unemployable. At best they are fit for “simple jobs”, which do not require any specific occupational training or knowledge and can be handled by anyone. The chapter paper discusses employability in “simple jobs” from the perspective of employers. Drawing on the theoretical framework of the Economics of Convention (EC), we conceptualize employability and skills as emerging effects of valorization and as always contextual. Skills are not necessary or valuable in and of themselves but only in as much they are valued by a specific employer with respect to a specific coordination of production. Moreover, the value of workers is not merely an individual parameter, but it depends on their fit into an existing work organization. Matching workers and jobs can go both ways: selecting workers who fit the skills requirements of a job, as defined by the employer, or adapting technical and organizational forms to the skill level of the available workforce. The paper is based on empirical data from a qualitative study on the employability of unskilled workers in five industries with a high percentage of low-skilled jobs. It comprises three interview waves with workers (39 in the first wave), with employers (33 interviews in 27 firms) and with labour market intermediates (10 interviews in 3 private and 3 public employment agencies).
Schlagwörter
low-skilled workers, employability, labour market, valuation, sociology of conventions
Veranstaltung
2019 Congress of the Swiss Sociological Association
Startdatum der Ausstellung
Enddatum der Ausstellung
Startdatum der Konferenz
Enddatum der Konferenz
Datum der letzten Prüfung
ISBN
978-3-03777-244-7
ISSN
Sprache
Englisch
Während FHNW Zugehörigkeit erstellt
Ja
Zukunftsfelder FHNW
Publikationsstatus
Veröffentlicht
Begutachtung
Fachlektorat/Editorial Review
Open Access-Status
Green
Lizenz
Zitation
Nadai, E., & Gonon, A. (2021). ‘Simple Jobs’ for Disqualified Workers. Employability at the Bottom of the Labour Market. In C. Suter, J. Cuvi, P. Balsiger, & M. Nedelcu (Eds.), The Future of Work (pp. 199–221). Seismo. https://doi.org/10.26041/fhnw-3663