Working With Technology - Changing Skill Requirements in the Computer Age
Almost one in two Canadians used a computer at work in 1994. That's meant
the creation of higher skilled jobs and the elimination of unskilled jobs.
And the deepening of computer-based technology (CBT) use in the workplace
has caused a general up-skilling of existing jobs. These observations form
part of the third wave of the Working With Technology Survey (WWTS III).
Conducted by Kathryn McMullen, from the Canadian Policy Research Networks,
for Human Resources Development Canada, the WWTS III supported the general
findings of recent international research on the effects of CBT on the skill
structure of the economy. Earlier waves of the WWTS showed the progression
of technology in all sectors of the Canadian economy except for the
agriculture, construction and public sectors. Between 1980 and 1985, the
majority of CBT consisted of stand-alone applications. Office applications
were more common than manufacturing-process applications. Automation
of clerical and secretarial tasks was the predominant result of this CBT.
From 1986 to 1991, the emphasis shifted to more sophisticated applications
involving data and communications networks. In addition, the focus of
applications shifted to work performed by managers and professional/technical
workers.
These previous surveys implicitly reinforced the view that, as CBT reaches
more deeply into business operations, a process of skills upgrading occurs.
The WWTS III was designed to explicitly address the links between CBT change
and the impact on the skills of workers. This survey gathered data directly
from employers about computer technology and the way it is affecting skills
requirements. The WWTS III focuses on three different dimensions of skill:
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know-how — specialized technical knowledge needed to plan and
carry out required work;
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problem-solving — ability to identify and resolve problems
encountered in carrying out work; and
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autonomy— scope available to the employee to control the way
in which the required work is performed.
Text Version
Here are some of the observations of the WWTS III:
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By the end of 1994, the mean percentage of employees in the respondent firms
using CBT reached 43. In high-growth industries related to the service economy,
including business services, finance, insurance and real estate, the mean
was about 20 percentage points higher.
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From 1992 to 1994, the introduction of CBT resulted directly in the creation
of largely professional and skilled technical job types and in the elimination
of unskilled job types.
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Not only did the share of professional and skilled technical jobs grow over
the period, so did the skill requirements for "know-how" for these occupational
groups.
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Within the lower-skilled intermediate and unskilled occupational groups,
skill requirements relating to "problem-solving" increased. The evidence
suggests that these groups are experiencing increasing requirements for skills
relating to "autonomy" and "know-how" as well.
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These increases in skill requirements are reflected in a substantial amount
of employer-sponsored training which focused, in particular, on computer
software and on the skills required of technical, skilled workers.
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Almost four in five of respondents who put some CBT in place during the study
period reported that the technology led to the reorganization of work processes.
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While respondents identified a number of obstacles to the introduction and
use of CBT, no one factor stood out. The three most frequently cited obstacles
were disruption of work processes and scheduling, the cost of training, and
the lack of technically-qualified personnel.
Think about people. Taken together, these findings highlight the need for
policymakers to look beyond encouraging investment in new technologies to
the people who will be using CBT. To reap the productivity-enhancing benefits
of technology, the people side of the equation — how to organize
production and management systems, who to train and how — requires
attention.
The small size of the WWTS III — 263 respondents —
limits the extent to which these conclusions can be unquestioningly generalized
across all Canadian firms. The results of the WWTS III, however, are consistent
within the survey itself and with related evidence reported by other researchers.
See, for example, "Increasingly Complex Jobs = Higher Skills" in this
Bulletin. The WWTS III results represent an important addition to Canadian
knowledge in the area of CBT.
A related Applied Research Branch report, Canada Technological
and Organizational Change and Labour Demand/Flexible Enterprise: Human Resource
Implications, was recently completed for the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development. It reports extensively on the results of the
WWTS III and related Canadian research, exploring the relationship between
technological and organizational change and labour demand in Canada.
Organizational issues related to technology will be the subject of an OECD
conference hosted by HRDC in December 1996.
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