Skills and Competitiveness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Skills and Competitiveness - Essay Example Advancement in technology has placed an even greater demand for skills. This is because the rate of technical change leads to higher levels of uncertainty for organizations which results in greater demand for problem solving skills   (Streeck, 1989). Countries such as the U.K are facing pressure from emerging countries such as India and China owing to their high growth rates and supply of high skills. Also, the demand for a highly skilled workforce has increased in the midst of intense global competition which has forced companies the developed nations to engage in ‘diversified quality production’ (Streeck, 1989).   On the contrary, critical studies have downplayed the importance of skills in securing innovation. In fact, the recent trend towards innovation may require â€Å"de-skilling† or reduction in the content of skills (Toner, 2011). According to these authors, the reliance on skill development through training has been reduced. This is attributed mostly to developments in the labor market such as self-employment and casualisation which require non-standard nature of work   (Toner, 2011). Furthermore, labor migration and labor mobility have further increased the power of workers and have reduced the incentives for firms to invest in developing skills of workers. Furthermore, the increased female participation in labor also acts as disincentive to train female employees with skills that they know will no longer benefit the organization once the females quit work (owing to family responsibilities or maternity leaves).