SKILL, TRAINING, AND WORK ORGANIZATION IN AMERICAN ESTABLISHMENTS

This paper examines the relationship between skill, training, and work organization in American firms. It is based on results from an original survey of a representative sample of private-sector establishments with fifty or more employees. The paper begins by briefly reviewing the literature regarding skill, training, and work organization. The empirical work is then presented in three sections: the first two describe skill and training patterns and trends, and the third estimates a regression model explaining variation in training across establishments, This model examines a number of the hypotheses found in the literature as well as question the impact of work organization upon the level of training provided by firms. Strong evidence is found that establishments that introduce so-called high performance work organizations provide more training than do other establishments, However, this effect tends to decay over time. In addition the paper finds a clear trend toward upskilling in work but one that is more pronounced for technical/professional than for blue-collar jobs. Hiring criteria for technical/professional jobs tended to focus more on skill, whereas behavioral traits were emphasized more heavily (but by no means exclusively) in blue-collar work. Finally, the regressions show that there is a clear make or buy choice, firms with more ''humanistic'' values train more, and the presence of a union increases training as does the payment of efficiency wages and links to a larger organization.