I have been thinking about how “skilled labor” tends to mean companies benefiting from the costs of training/education incurred by workers while offering little in the way of mentorship, apprenticeship, etc https://twitter.com/aspittel/status/1331285407242268676">https://twitter.com/aspittel/...
The job market for high-paid skilled laborers is certainly different than it once was. Tenures or “tours of duty” at organizations tend to be couple-year stints. I’ve experienced this personally as someone working in tech.
Why invest in a worker when they’re likely to jump ship in just another couple quarters? Why invest in a worker when you can poach one from someone else?
It’s a reinforcing cycle. I’m sure folks have done game theory analyses of this.
But part of what makes me think about it is seeing videos from @UFWupdates and others demonstrating the immense skill, technique, and mastery that goes into work so often (mis)classified as “unskilled.” https://twitter.com/ufwupdates/status/1331353758035374081">https://twitter.com/ufwupdate...
I won’t pretend to know about the hiring practices of farms or the experience of agricultural work, but something that feels significant is that learning to be a speedy agricultural worker seems to be something one is expected to learn on the job.
There’s an explosion of “juniors in tech.” (I’m seeing a similar book in the AI ethics space, too.) There are many, many, MANY people who have developed skills to work in the tech sector, a sector that many consider to be a growing space.
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/mobile/home.htm">https://www.bls.gov/ooh/compu...
Might many tech jobs become “unskilled” (and then likely contingent) jobs in the future? It certainly seems possible if not likely. https://youtu.be/zj2DEQCOTh0 ">https://youtu.be/zj2DEQCOT...
Unfortunately, neither “skilled” nor “unskilled” jobs seem to be trending toward supporting workers in their growth and development. Either training is treated as a prerequisite or work is “deskilled” such that workers beat the burden of training themselves to advance.
This seems like a perfect storm for society as people get caught in the debt trap of pursuing education for “skilled” roles that are either evasive and rare or become plentiful and low-paying as they’re “deskilled” into task work.
You can follow @b_cavello.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: