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.

Technology and Systems Understanding

As can be seen in Table 3.2, the array of technology at the work sites can be quite extensive. While technology certainly affects all the jobs we studied, it really defines the work of test-cell and equipment technicians. According to technicians, the job requires a "man over machine" attitude, where the technician is not overwhelmed by the technology but feels in charge (Stasz et al., 1996).

One reason they need a high level of mechanical skill is that the equipment changes frequently, sometimes having an operating life of only six months. This particular company is also known for inventing cutting-edge equipment for semiconductor manufacturing.

In addition to mechanical skills or aptitude in "how things work," technicians need to understand enough of what a machine does to be able to predict how it will behave if some adjustment is made. As one test technician describes, this brings different science knowledge into play:

So you have to know how things are going to work and to see if it's broken--see where on the shafts and stuff like that. You need to know about implanters, sputters, and all your acid equipment. You can't just go in there with a wrench because you've got pressure. If you open something, you don't know if it's going to shoot out a little or just gonna keep on shooting forever. So you've got to understand a little before you can go up there and just start. I'd say probably the only machine--well, even microscopes are tough--you can't just go up there and start messing around without knowing what you're doing.

In this, as in earlier examples, we see that the technician speaks of a concept, in this case "pressure," in reference to a particular process and equipment.

These technicians and those working with traffic signals also need to understand electronic devices. While the test technician in the preceding example can see the results of adjusting his piece of machinery, technicians working with electronic devices also encounter the "black box." To troubleshoot, they must comprehend both the electronics and the computers:

Is it a failure of the equipment or a failure of the program? So I have to be able to separate out and determine--am I looking at a program glitch or am I looking at an equipment glitch? [Traffic signal technician]

Technicians also differentiate between mechanical know-how and technical understanding:

Most of the problems, people always think, are electronic. But a lot of your problems are just mechanical. They just don't understand how the machine is working. [Test technician]

Finally, they distinguish between theoretical understanding and hands-on or practical understanding of technology:

There are people who have studied and can study well and can take tests well. They are very book knowledgeable, but they can't apply it practically. Some don't have book knowledge, but are more hands-on oriented. They can go and read on what needs to be done, and they are able to apply it. Or you can tell them. But they are missing the technical understanding. They may know every component inside, but they won't know what it does. Knowing it and knowing what to do with it are two different things. [Traffic signal technician]

The home health providers also confront a wide array of technology in the homes, but they do not really need to understand how it works. The critical understanding is how it operates and knowing if the equipment is malfunctioning. Aides or LVNs are not required to troubleshoot any problems but only to report them to the case manager, who will send someone else to make repairs:

Well, they will probably be encountering special beds that have a lot of built-in features that need to be manipulated. They encounter patients on continuous oxygen therapy. We should not be depending on respiratory people to go over there to check. They should be able to check the safety, that the humidifier is working fine, that there's enough water. They should at least be familiar with ventilator machines and be able to detect if it's working or not. They don't have to troubleshoot it, but be able to recognize that there are some signs of dysfunction. The home may have a suction machine if patients and their families are expected to do their own irrigation of cuts. A patient may have an intermittent thermalitic pressure device for his leg. LVNs should know how to use that. [HA manager]

Understanding the mechanical and theoretical aspects of the technology may also permit technicians to build more efficient tools:

Ken mentioned that at one of his previous jobs they used teflon coils to do the same thing, and it was much simpler. Rich wasn't familiar with that technology, so asked Ken to say more about it and bring him an example or drawing if he could. Ken went on to say that many parts are "overdesigned" by the vendor and have many redundant components. He and the other technicians will often strip down equipment and rebuild a more streamlined and better piece of machinery. [MPM fieldnotes]

Although employers often expect to provide job-specific training to new workers, managers and supervisors for most jobs emphasize the need for technical skills. They look for individuals who have experience with cutting-edge technologies, and they are willing to pay a premium for a skilled worker:

Technology is really affecting survey work. In the field, the instrument man now uses a sophisticated gun. This job is becoming more and more specialized as the equipment becomes more complex. Instrument men can almost guarantee themselves work by mastering the operation of the cutting-edge machines. [TA supervisor]

Hands-on experience is very important, especially with particular equipment within the semiconductor industry, e.g., scope, monitor, microscope, equipment for testing purposes. People with this background can start at a higher level. [MPM human resources director]

Systems Understanding

As can be seen in the work scenarios in Appendix I and the examples cited above, work in these technical occupations involves a complex set of processes, technology, and social systems. Understanding how these systems operate and interact is crucial to the work. Systems understanding can have different requirements--for example, the abstraction of underlying principles from different systems to see how they overlap or the mapping of different symbol systems. In our discussions about skill needs, respondents provided many comments about the importance of understanding systems:

Well, first of all, traffic control is a very specialized field because it's more than just electrical engineering work or the electronic. You have to know the logics [sic]--how to work in the streets, how the traffic moves. So there are some basic principles you have to understand before you get into the traffic control business because it relates directly to the safety of people. You need a mental model of how the actions you take with the signal affect flow and basic safety issues. [TM manager]

In this example, the understanding of systems concerns relationships between signals and public safety. Similarly, in home health care, several important systems come into play: the condition of the particular patient, the expected effects between medical practice and patient well-being, and the specific rules that delineate the social organization of work among health care practitioners with differing credentials.

Construction inspection and survey inspection jobs require constant reference to and switching between two different depictions of the construction project: the two-dimensional plans and blueprints that define the legal specifications for the construction and the actual, three-dimensional built environment. Inspectors constantly navigate between the two representations. According to our observations and interviews, they consult mental models, draw pictures, or gesture to one another in problem solving or communicating about spatial relationships. Inspectors need to have sophisticated skills in reading blueprints, not only because a subway project yields a large number of complex drawings, but because the drawings change frequently as the work progresses:

I follow the inspector on his way to the roof slab to check on the installation of sump and ejector pumps within the plumbing system. He is the mechanical expert. The plumbing system is within the "guts" of the roof slab. We climb down a shaky ladder to the work area. He checks on the installation of a plastic "frame" inside the wall. Although the entire subway will be in a plastic liner envelope, they want to add protection to all the external walls. He climbs onto the top of the wall to observe the installation, then inches along the top [on the carpenter's scaffolding] to inspect what had already been installed. Later he finds a problem with a liner that has already been installed. The contractor wants to pour the elevator casing, but the liner has not been tested for leaks. The contractor claims the inspector did not indicate that a leak test was needed first. They return to the office to look and the drawings and specs [a note about the requested test would have been added to them] and to sort things out. [TA fieldnotes]

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.