UNIONS AND SKILLS UTILISATION Francis Green

Overview "Skills utilisation": a new policy orientation, as part of a long-term strategy for skills supply and demand what role has been envisaged for trade unions; how might this be taken forward? 2

Origin & problem evidence of increasing under-employment, in the sense of making insufficient use of the qualifications being gained relatively low employer demand for more- educated workers in Britain UK employers quite slow in adopting HIWPs 3

HIWPs 1: the principles harnessing creativity/ problem-solving practices include: –regular meetings; suggestion schemes, participating appraisal schemes, quality improvement circles; pay for performance; emphasis on quality recruitment and skills enhancement; high skills utilisation varied fit: good for complex and dynamic places win-win argument 4

HIWPs 2: the reality limited advance of practices declining levels of workplace autonomy 5

6 Autonomy in British Workplaces

7 Source: UK Skills Surveys Task Discretion in Britain,

Unions and HIWPs What impact on whether they are introduced? –neutral in practice What have been unions' effects in cases where HIWPs were introduced? –older study implies positive interactive effects on wages and on productivity –but we don't really know overall 8

The skills utilisation strategy Project: –lit. review; case studies; measurement project; policy review Strategy: –to orient, prioritise and integrate services for employers, in order to promote the use of HIWPs –not a new policy recommendation; different across 4 nations; different emphases of the new government 9

Unions' envisaged role micro level: partnerships (as in case studies) macro level: involvement of TUC, STUC, ACAS in the policy review process indirect: –RDAs; through TUC's contacts with employers etc "championing" the HIWP agenda ; through unions directly influencing employers' demand for skills 10

Thinking ahead Context: large potential benefits the Commission: delineate better the potential positive contribution of unions? unions –seize opportunities for expanded participation –focus more training and research on skills utilisation issues include skills utilisation issues/HIWPs in training programmes for union officials and shop stewards? invest in some union-oriented research around issues of job design, links to well-being, H&S etc; learning from Scandinavia? 11