Stasz, C., & Brewer, D. J. (1999). Academic Skills at Work: Two Perspectives (MDS-1193). Berkeley: National Center for Research in Vocational Education, University of California.

Breakdowns and Skill "Failures"

Our study also provides information about consequences when workers lack crucial academic knowledge or understanding, as the following excerpts illustrate:

Sometimes lack of technical skills can slow progress. For example, the expert in the group has an AA in electrical engineering and learned the job in 2-3 months. The youngest member of the group has only a high school degree. Though he did have electronics courses, he has still not learned the basics in seven months. [MPM supervisor]

In the manufacturing environment, time is money. Employers are keen to identify and hire workers who have the necessary basic skills. They expect to train individuals to operate and maintain specific equipment, and will often make production allowances during training periods. If incumbent workers lack adequate disciplinary knowledge, in this case electronics, they take longer to become productive workers and may take longer to develop expertise.

Another example comes from observations of the test-cell, in which a novice worker's conceptual understanding of the technology is different from the expert's:

I ask the operator [a novice] what the PIND tests for. She responds that it tests for loose particles in the chip that could damage the device when it is in use. She tells me that the device shakes each chip and provides a readout indicating if there is a loose particle in the chip. I probe, asking how the machine operates. She repeats her previous response. I plan to ask Stan and Ng later, but Stan [the expert] jumps in and explains what the machine is doing: The vibration should shake any particle in the chip loose and the machine measures unexpected noise arising from the vibration of the part. [MPM fieldnotes]

Although the novice's lack of thorough understanding did not affect the work process in this case, it may have caused problems if the machine needed adjusting and the expert was not available to provide assistance. In the following examples from test-cell observations, reported in the MPM fieldnotes, experts come to the aid of coworkers who have problems with their math:

They are working on the centrifuge. The other tech is having trouble calculating how many RPMs and how long each test is supposed to run. Stan shows him the appropriate page from the process specs manual that sits right next to the machine. Stan takes out a calculator to show him an example of how the calculations are to be completed.

She has a great deal of difficulty explaining how to fill in the test, in part because she cannot figure out how to calculate percentages correctly. Eventually, Stan shows her how to calculate the figures, and asks her if she can show them how to mount different chips on the device.

Stasz, C., & Brewer, D. J. (1999). Academic Skills at Work: Two Perspectives (MDS-1193). Berkeley: National Center for Research in Vocational Education, University of California.