Abstract
In this chapter, the focus is on how changes in the productive structure translate into different shapes of demand of human capital. This chapter aims to approach theoretically how the technological change, but also the changes in the production structure in general, affects the requirements in terms of occupational characteristics and the required skills. First, an overview of the effects of technology on occupational requirements is given and its general characteristics are described. This effect is then divided into two parts which are described and analyzed independently. The first concerns the external change of occupational characteristics, i.e., the change due to changes in the labor distribution which results in different needs of workforce characteristics. The remains of the change, or elseways said the residual of the former on the difference, are the internal change which concerns the change of the requirements of the professions themselves regardless of the division of labor. The latter also includes any requirement shifts arising from the organizational work environment. Therefore, even if technological change does not alter labor distribution, as it affects work processes, it is reflected in the overall occupational requirements. Both effects are analyzed in a macro-level to grasp current trends.
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Notes
- 1.
We use the term “competencies” to describe the various characteristics which are required of the worker for the performance of their tasks. As noted in the previous chapter, we distinguish them from “skills.” Alternatively, the term KSAs is used in the literature, which is based on the three basic categories that comprise the competencies (Knowledge-Skills-Abilities) (Stevenes & Campion, 1994; Walker & Lloyd-Walker, 2019) although the term “competencies” is considered the most expedient (Shippmann et al., 2000). Even more frequent is the use of “skills” in the wide sense (Acemoglu & Autor, 2010, Autor, 2013, CEDEFOP, 2018) though we consider that this use complicates things and obscures the distinction between skills, knowledge, and abilities.
- 2.
Besides, as noted in the previous chapter, the process of maintenance of the tools of classification is a demanding and ongoing task (Handel, 2016).
- 3.
This polarization is observable once we reduce the occupation to one dimension only and one axis with several intensities of specialization (mow, middle, high) and draw the corresponding requirements in human capital. Analysis through the various occupational catalogues (such as O*NET) may provide a more in-depth picture, as will be shown in the present chapter; nevertheless, such a type of deduction can be particularly helpful.
- 4.
- 5.
It is important to note that the occupational effect is first derived in terms of occupation and has then to be translated into requirements in human capital. Otherwise, if it is derived directly in terms of competencies, the effect which we examine below will have been added as well, because of the change in the nature of the occupations. In this paragraph, we are only looking at the effect due to the change in distribution of the labor structure; thus, we consider the nature of labor to be stable (i.e., stable tasks).
- 6.
Characteristically, it is mentioned that a large part of these occupations refers to jobs that relate to the hard sciences (STEM) where workers tend to have completed tertiary education.
- 7.
Specifically, if someone wishes to guess at one possible point of difficulty, all one need do is picture the difficulty in identifying stains on a range of floors made of wood, marble or other materials with repetitive patterns of random striations, or, perhaps, mosaics. This task involves analytic competencies and critical thinking which computers do not possess, even to this rudimentary degree.
- 8.
Or, they are treated under the assumption that professions remain relatively stable in terms of their internal characteristics. The use of cataloguing on a national scale resolves this to some degree, especially when it is regularly updated (particularly like O*NET) (Autor, 2013). However, not all catalogues are updated with the same regularity (Khatiwada & MacedaVeloso, 2019), while even regular updating resolves the issue to some degree only.
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Pisinas, Y. (2022). Productive Structure, Technological Change and Requirements in Human Capital. In: Petrakis, P.E. (eds) Human Capital and Production Structure in the Greek Economy. The Political Economy of Greek Growth up to 2030. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04938-5_5
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