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Developing Technician Skills for Innovative Industries: Theory, Evidence from the UK Life Sciences Industry, and Policy Implications
Author(s) -
Lewis Paul
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
british journal of industrial relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.665
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-8543
pISSN - 0007-1080
DOI - 10.1111/bjir.12532
Subject(s) - technician , apprenticeship , economic shortage , work (physics) , training (meteorology) , business , public relations , marketing , political science , engineering , mechanical engineering , philosophy , linguistics , physics , government (linguistics) , meteorology , law
This article explores how innovative firms attempt to acquire the skilled technicians needed to deploy new technologies. Interviews with 40 employers from the UK life sciences sector reveal that shortages of technicians, an awareness of the importance of practical skills best acquired through work‐based learning, and increasing dissatisfaction with the use of graduates, are encouraging employers to turn towards apprenticeship training. However, the rules governing the funding of various kinds of education and training discourage providers from offering the kinds of apprenticeships increasingly sought by employers, giving rise to a ‘system failure’ that manifests itself in shortages of technicians and the use of over‐qualified graduates in technician roles.