Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Improving Incentives for the Low-Paid pp 181–223Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Job Training, Individual Opportunity and Low Pay

  • Chapter

Abstract

The low-paid are arguably the most disadvantaged segment of the British labour force in terms of training and self-development. Amongst employees, they receive the least training and enjoy the least opportunity to use skill in their work. They are also worse placed than the long-term unemployed and the early school-leavers upon whom public training subsidies have increasingly become focussed.

‘Wanted … supermarket assistants with imagination’ (Job ad, Cambridge Evening News, September 1989)

‘Two enthusiastic early morning cleaning staff required for offices’ (Job ad, Cambridge Weekly News, October 1989)

I would like to thank Ken Mayhew for encouraging me to produce the paper on which this chapter is based. The assistance of the Policy Studies Institute (in the persons of Malcolm Rigg and Karen MacKinnon), OPCS and the Department of Employment in providing access to unpublished data is gratefully acknowledged. I also thank Sir John Cassels both for an invitation to give a talk to the PSI seminar on ‘The real skills shortage’ which stimulated the development of much of this analysis and, along with Christine Greenhalgh, Ewart Keep, S. J. Prais, David Raffe, W. S. Siebert, David Stanton, Hilary Steedman, Frank Wilkinson and participants at the Oxford seminar, for helpful comments and suggestions. Finally, thanks are also due to David Marsden for his help in the area of our common research interests and to Gale Smith for making me awareness of the training-related obstacles facing low paid women.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

eBook
USD   19.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Ashenfelter, O. (1978) ‘Estimating the effects of training programmes on earnings’, Review of Economics and Statistics, 60 (February).

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, A.B., Mickelwright, J. and Sutherland, H. (1982) Low Pay: a Preliminary Look at Evidence from the FES (London: Low Pay Unit).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bassi, L. J. and Ashenfelter, O. (1986) ‘The effect of direct job creation and training programmes on low skilled workers’, in Danziger, S. H. and Weinberg, D. H. (eds), Fighting Poverty: What Works and What Does Not (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bazen, S. (1988) ‘On the overlap between low pay and poverty’, ICERD discussion paper, 120 (London School of Economics).

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1967) ‘Human capital and the personal distribution of income: an analytical approach’, Woytinsky Lecture, University of Michigan; reprinted in Becker (1975).

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1975) Human Capital (Chicago: University of Chicago) 2nd edn.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bluestone, B. (1970) ‘The tripartite economy: labour markets and the working poor’, Poverty and Human Resources Abstracts, 5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brosnan, P. and Wilkinson, F. (1988) ‘A national minimum wage and economic efficiency’, Contributions to Political Economy, 7 (March).

    Google Scholar 

  • Calmfors, L. (1986) ‘Comment’, in Bosworth, B. P. and Rivlin, A. M. (eds), The Swedish Economy (Washington, D.C.: Brookings).

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, A. and Warner, M. (1990) ‘Training strategies and microelectronics in the engineering industries in the UK and West Germany’, forthcoming in Ryan, P. (ed.), International Comparisons of Vocational Education and Training (Lewes: Falmer).

    Google Scholar 

  • Carmichael, L. (1983) ‘Firm-specific human capital and promotion ladders’, Bell Journal of Economics, 14 (Spring).

    Google Scholar 

  • Confederation of British Industry (CBI) (1989) ‘Towards a skills revolution — a youth charter’, interim report of the Vocational Education and Training Task Force (London) (mimeo).

    Google Scholar 

  • Commission of the European Communities (CEC) (1984) Social Europe (December).

    Google Scholar 

  • Claydon, S. (1980) ‘Counting our skills: the National Training Survey’, Employment Gazette, 88 (November).

    Google Scholar 

  • Craig, C., Rubery, J., Tarling, R., and Wilkinson, F. (1982) Labour Market Structure, Industrial Organisation and Low Pay (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Davenport, E., Totterdill, P., and Zeitlin, J. (1986) ‘Training for the clothing industry: a strategy for local government intervention’, unpublished report to the Greater London Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deakin, B. M. and Pratten, C. (1987) ‘Economic effects of YTS’, Employment Gazette, 95 (October).

    Google Scholar 

  • Deloitte, Haskins and Sells (DHS) (1988) ‘Study of Employers’ Training Activities’, Report to Manpower Services Commission (Sheffield).

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Employment (DE) (1988a) Training for Employment, Cm316 (London: HMSO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Employment (DE) (1988b) Employment for the 1990s, Cm 540 (London: HMSO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Employment (DE) (1988c) The London Labour Market (London: HMSO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Employment (DE) (1988d) Career Development Loans, information booklet (London: Department of Employment).

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Employment (DE) Gazette (1977) ‘How individual people’s earnings change’, Department of Employment Gazette, 85 (January).

    Google Scholar 

  • Doeringer, P. B. (1969) ‘Low income labor markets and urban manpower programs: a critical assessment’, Manpower Administration, US Department of Labor (Washington, D.C.: GPO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Doeringer, P. B. and Piore, M. J. (1971) Internal Labor Markets and Manpower Analysis (Lexington: D.C. Heath).

    Google Scholar 

  • Elias, P. (1988) ‘Family formation, occupational mobility and part-time work’, in Hunt (1988).

    Google Scholar 

  • FE UK (1989) ‘The next rung up: training, enterprise and unskilled workers’ (London: Full Employment UK).

    Google Scholar 

  • Field, F. (1984) ‘Policies against low pay: an international perspective’, research paper, 84/4 (London: Policy Studies Institute).

    Google Scholar 

  • Finegold, D. and Soskice, D. (1988) ‘The failure of training in Britain: analysis and prescription’, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 4 (3) (Autumn).

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraser, N. (1987) ‘Economic policy in Sweden: are there lessons from the Swedish model?’, International Review of Applied Economics, 1 (June).

    Google Scholar 

  • Forrest, D. (1984) Low Pay or No Pay?, Hobart paper, 101 (London: Institute for Economic Affairs).

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhalgh, C. and Stewart, M. B. (1982) ‘The effects and determinants of training’, Warwick Economic Research Paper 213, Department of Economics (University of Warwick).

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhalgh, C. and Stewart, M. B. (1985) ‘The occupational status and mobility of British men and women’, Oxford Economic Papers, 37 (March).

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhalgh, C. and Stewart, M. B. (1987) ‘The effects and determinants of training’, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 49 (May).

    Google Scholar 

  • Gross, M. (1990) ‘Labour market segmentation: the role of product market and industry structure in determining labour market outcomes. A test for the United Kingdom’, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation (University of Cambridge).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hicks, J. R. (1963) The Theory of Wages (London: Macmillan) 2nd edn.

    Google Scholar 

  • Humphries, J. and Rubery, J. (1984) ‘The reconstitution of the supply side of the labour market’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 8 (December).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, A. (ed.) (1988) Women and Paid Work (London: Macmillan).

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute for Employment Research (IER) (1989) Review of the Economy and Employment, vol. 2, Occupational Studies (Coventry: University of Warwick).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jalladde, J.-P. (1982) Alternate Training for Young People: Guidelines for Action (Berlin: CEDEFOP).

    Google Scholar 

  • James, R. (1987) ‘The excess cost of training’, Clothing World (January).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, I.S. (1986) ‘Apprentice training costs in British manufacturing establishments: some new evidence’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 24 (November).

    Google Scholar 

  • Keep, E. (1987) ‘Britain’s attempts to create a national vocational education and training system: a review of progress’, Warwick papers in Industrial Relations 16 (University of Warwick, IRRU).

    Google Scholar 

  • Keep, E. (1990) ‘Training for the Low-paid’ (Chapter 5 in this volume).

    Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, A. B. and Summers, L. H. (1987) ‘Reflections on the interindustry wage structure’, in Lang, K. and Leonard, J. S. (eds), Unemployment and the Structure of Labour Markets (Oxford: Basil Blackwell).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lalonde, R. (1986) ‘Evaluating the econometric evaluations of training programmes with experimental data’, American Economic Review, 76 (September): 604–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Layard, R., Piachaud, D., and Stewart, M. B. (1978) The Causes of Poverty, Background Paper, 5, Royal Commission on the Distribution of Income and Wealth (London: HMSO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindley, R. M. (1983) ‘Active manpower policy’, in Bain, G. S. (ed.), Industrial Relations in Great Britain (Oxford: Basil Blackwell).

    Google Scholar 

  • McNabb, R. and Ryan, P. (1989) ‘Segmented labour markets’, in Sapsford, D. and Tsannatos, Z. (eds), Current Issues in Labour Economics (London: Macmillan).

    Google Scholar 

  • Manpower Services Commission (MSC) (1987) Annual Report 1986/87 (Sheffield: MSC).

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsden, D. W. (1983) ‘Wage structure’, in Bain, G. S. (ed.), Industrial Relations in Great Britain (Oxford: Basil Blackwell).

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsden, D. W. (1986) The End of Economic Man? Competition and Custom in the Labour Market (Brighton: Wheatsheaf).

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsden, D. W. and Ryan, P. (1988) ‘Apprenticeship and labour market structure: UK youth employment and training in comparative context’, paper presented to International Symposium on Innovations in Apprenticeship and Training (November) (Paris: OECD).

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsden, D. W. and Ryan, P. (1989a) ‘Employment and training of young people: have the government misunderstood the labour market?’, in Education and Training UK 1989 (Newbury: Policy Journals).

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsden, D. W. and Ryan, P. (1989b) ‘Statistical tests for the universality of youth employment mechanisms in segmented labour markets’, International Review of Applied Economics, 3 (June).

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsden, D. W. and Ryan, P. (1990a) ‘The structuring of youth pay and employment in six European economies’, in Ryan, P., Garonna, D., and Edwards, R. C. (eds), The Problem of Youth: the Regulation of Youth Employment and Training in Advanced Economies (London: Macmillan) (forthcoming).

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsden, D. W. and Ryan, P. (1990b), ‘Initial training, labour market structure and public policy in Britain and the FRG’, in Ryan, P. (ed.), International Comparisons of Vocational Education and Training (Lewes: Falmer) (forthcoming).

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, J. and Roberts, C. (1984) Women and Employment: a Lifetime Perspective, Social Survey Report, SS 1143 (London: HMSO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayhew, K. and Rosewell, B. (1979) ‘Labour market segmentation in Britain’, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 41 (May).

    Google Scholar 

  • Metcalf, D. and Nickell, S. (1982) ‘Occupational mobility in Great Britain’, in Ehrenberg, R. (ed.), Research in Labour Economics, 5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mincer, J. (1974) Schooling, Experience and Earnings (New York: Columbia University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • National Board for Prices and Incomes (NPBI) (1969) Pay and Conditions in the Clothing Industry, Report 110, Cmnd4002 (London: HMSO).

    Google Scholar 

  • National Board for Prices and Incomes (NBPI) (1971) General Problems of Low Pay, Report 169, Cmnd4648 (London: HMSO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nickell, S. (1982) ‘The determinants of occupational success in Britain’, Review of Economic Studies, 49 (January).

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (1976) Developments in Educational Leave of Absence (Paris: OECD).

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (1988) ‘Women’s activity, employment and earnings: a review of recent developments’, OECD Employment Outlook 1988 (Paris: OECD).

    Google Scholar 

  • Piore, M.J. (1970) ‘Jobs and training’, in Beer, S. and Barringer, R. E. (eds), The State and the Poor (Cambridge, Mass: Winthrop).

    Google Scholar 

  • Piore, M. J. (1973) ‘The importance of human capital theory to labour economics: a dissenting view’, Proceedings of 26th Annual Meeting of the Industrial Relations Research Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raffe, D. (1988) ‘Going with the grain: youth training in transition’, in Brown, S. (ed.), Education in Transition (Edinburgh: Scottish Council for Research in Education).

    Google Scholar 

  • Raffe, D. (1989) ‘The transition from YTS to work: content, context and the external labour market’, paper presented to Annual Conference of British Sociological Association (March).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rigg, M. (1988) ‘The impact of vocational education and training on individual adults’, final report to Training Agency VET Funding Study (London: Policy Studies Institute).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, S. (1980) ‘Male occupational standing and the dual labour market’, Industrial Relations, 19 (Winter).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowthorn, R. (1989) ‘Wage dispersion and employment: theories and evidence’, paper presented to 9th World Congress of the International Economics Association (Athens) (August).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, P. (1980) ‘The empirical analysis of labour market segmentation’, paper presented to Conference on Low Pay and Labour Market Segmentation in Advanced Economies (Berlin) (July).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, P. (1981) ‘Segmentation, duality and the internal labour market’, in Wilkinson, F. (ed.), The Dynamics of Labour Market Segmentation (London: Academic Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, P. (1984a) ‘Job training, employment practices and the large enterprise: the case of costly transferable skills’, in Osterman, P. (ed.), Internal Labour Markets (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, P. (1984b) ‘The New Training Initiative after two years’, Lloyds Bank Review (April).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, P. (1987) ‘Trade unionism and the pay of young workers’, in Junankar, P. N. (ed.), From School to Unemployment? The Labour Market for Young People (London: Macmillan).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadler, P. (1989) ‘Management Development’, in Sisson, K. (ed.), Personnel Management in Britain (Oxford: Basil Blackwell).

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, C. and Stiglitz, J. (1984) ‘Equilibrium unemployment as a worker discipline device’, American Economic Review, 73 (June).

    Google Scholar 

  • Steedman, H. and Wagner, K. (1989) ‘Productivity, machinery, and skills: clothing manufacture in Britain and Germany’, National Institute Economic Review, 109 (May).

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, M. B. and Greenhalgh, C.A. (1984) ‘Work history patterns and the occupational attainment of women’, Economic Journal, 94 (September).

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, B., Moxham, J., and Jones, J. A. G. (1969) ‘A cost-benefit analysis of industrial training’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 7 (July).

    Google Scholar 

  • Training Agency/Department of Education and Science/Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit TA/DES/ALBSU (1989) ‘Literacy and numeracy in YTS: a report’ (Sheffield: Training Agency).

    Google Scholar 

  • Training Commission TC (1988) Annual Report 1987/88 (Sheffield: Training Commission).

    Google Scholar 

  • Willis, N. (1989) ‘A worker’s right to train’, National Westminster Bank Quarterly Review (February).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeitlin, J. (1988) ‘The clothing industry in transition: international trends and British response’, Textile History, 19.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Paul Ryan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Economic Development Office, UK

    Alex Bowen (Head of Policy Analysis and Statistics) & Ken Mayhew (Economic Director) (Head of Policy Analysis and Statistics) &  (Economic Director)

Copyright information

© 1990 National Economic Development Office

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Ryan, P. (1990). Job Training, Individual Opportunity and Low Pay. In: Bowen, A., Mayhew, K. (eds) Improving Incentives for the Low-Paid. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-21012-1_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation