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Pinto, Ana Maria Rezende; Araujo s Oliveira, JoaoBatistaThe Skills of Multi-Skilling. Discussion Paper No.100.

International Labour Office, Geneva (Switzerland).ISBN-92-2-108707-792

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Automation; Competence; Curriculum Development;Educational Needs; *Electronics; ElectronicsIndustry; *Electronic Technicians; Foreign Countries;Job Analysis; *Job Skills; *Job Training; Labor ForceDevelopment; Labor Market; Labor Needs; LifelongLearning; Occupational Information; PostsecondaryEducation; Secondary Education; Skill Analysis; TaskAnalysis; Technical Education; *TechnologicalAdvancement; Vocational Schools'Brazil; *Multiskilling

In Brazil, electronic technicians are increasinglybeing asked to perform a number of technical and nontechnical tasks,for which they need complex education and training or multiskilling.The typical tasks faced.by electronic technicians require a

relatively high level of abstraction and symbolic learning. Requiredskills cover a broad range of intellectual and technical abilities.Electronics is expected to keep changing, and technicians should beable to keep up with these developments and to learn how to learn.Employers value technicians with general abilities and knowledgesubsumed under the general term of trainability. They are alsoconzerned with two major categories of theoretical knowledge: thebasic principles behind the functioning of electronic systems andequipment and the specific disciplines that impart knowledge,information, and technical skills in electronics, automation,pneumatics, and mechanics. Both employers and students expectelectronics to be a lifelong experience. An analysis of 30 years ofcurriculum change in the electronics school of Santa Rita do Sapucaishows that pure )'eory in the 1960s became applied in the 1970s. Thecritical challenge of multiskilling is to overcome the tensionbetween the employe:'s demand for increasingly highly qualifiedtechnicians and the immediate realities of the workplace whererepetitive jobs predominate and limit the extent to which higherskills can be used and developed. (YLB)

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by Ana Maria Rezende Pinto andJoao Batista Araujo e Oliveira

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1 002

Discussion Paper No. 100

The skills of multi-skilling

by Ana Maria Rezende Pinto andJoao Batista Araujo e Oliveira

LIMITED DI STI BUTI ON

Discussion papers are preliminary material to stimulate discussionand critical coment. The views expressed by editorial staff and

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Summary

This paper analyses the nature of skills involved in the work and training ofelectronic technicians inBrazil. These workers are being increasingly asked to performa number of technical and non-technicaltasks, for which they need a complex education and training or in short multi-skilling. The introductionsets up the context in which these technicians work- a sample of industries in a developing industrialisedcountry representing various levels of production automation and technological complexity. Based onthe tasks in which these technicians are involved, the paper derives the skills required, and discussesthe level of ,theoretical and symbolic complexity involved Then it moves on to understand theexpectations of employers and employees concerning the learning the use and the development of theseskills in the workplace. Finally the paper illustrates how the curriculum ofa pioneer technical schoolcreated in 1958 has been responding to the changes in the theories, technologies, techniques ofelectronics. as well as to the changing needs and expectations of employers and employees. The paperconcludes by stressing the increasingly complex and multi-facetednature of the electronics technicianjob and the corresponding increase in the level and type of education and training required Being anopen-ended field still in its infancy, no level of pre-employment electronics training will suffice to meetthe changing realities of the workplace. The critical challenge of multi-skilling is to overcome the tension .

between the fum's demand for increasingly highly qualified techniciansin one side, and the immediaterealities of the workplace where repetitive jobs predominate, and thus limits the extent to which thehigher skills demanded can be used and developed Hence the need for him-tech organisations toprovide permanent challenging tasks for their highly trained technicians, so that they can continue tolearn and develop.

5

Contents

Summary ill

I. Introduction: The context 1

II. The skills actually used by technicians 3

III. Expectation of employers and technicians 7

IV. Thirty years of curriculum change 11

V. Conclusion 13

References

Annex 17

L Introduction: The context

This paper is based on follow-up studies withthe graduates of the Technical School Francis-co Moreira da Costa, located in Santa Ritz doSapucai, a small town in the south of the Stateof Minas Gerais in Brazil.

The technical school started in 1958 - beforeelectronics was extensively used in industry. Itwas the fruit of the vision of local educators ata moment when the strategic developmentplan of industrial modernisation was launchedin the country.

The first curriculum of the school was con-ceived by the most outstanding scientists andengineers in the country, and reflected not onlystate of the art knowledge in electronics, as wellas their expectations about the role ofelectronic technicians in the emerging in-dustries in Brazil.

Graduates from the technical school wentmostly to work for firms in the neighbouringState of Sao Paulo, thus reflecting the cos-mopolitan, rather than local, vocation of theschool. This is why the study also includes datafrom a broad sample of industries for which

they work, and which are mostly located in thehighly industrialised State of Sao Paulo.

Santa Rita do Sapucai was primarily a coffeeplantation zone. In the early 1970s, a localindustry started to develor in what eventuallybecame the Electronics Valley. Based or thepool of graduates from the school, this indus yquickly developed, and is already consideredthe second electronics park in Brazil. Most ofour data come from graduates and employersfrom these local, but incipient, high-tech in-dustries.

The paper is organised in three parts. The firstpart is mostly conceptual and analytic, and setsthe framework for understanding the actualtasks electronics technicians perform and theskills required. Part two deals with additionalexpectations of employers and technicians con-cerning the nature of their work - what adds tothe complexity of the tasks and the multiplicityof skills required. In the third part we discusshow the curriculum of the technical school hasbeen responding to changes in the field ofelectronics, the technological profile of the in-dustries, as well as to expectations concerningthe training of multi-skilled workers.

1

II.The skills actually used by technicians

The present discussion is based on direct ob-servation, job analysis and interviews with su-pervisors and managers of firms. Annex Iillustrates the distribution of the activities typi-cally performed by electronic technicians. It isdivided in two columns, the right columndescribing the tasks more typical of the firstthree years of activity, and the column on theleft showing the activities of technicians withmore than three years of experience. The fig-ure includes all the jobs of all the techniciansin the firms sampled, regardless of the specific"titles and functions they perform and of thelevel of technological sophistication of thefirms.

The first and obvious remark refers to the dif-ference in the weight incidence of some typesof skills more used in the first three years, asopposed to the later part of the career. Newlygraduate technicians work more on activitiesrequiring the use of tools, consulting manuals,applying rules, as well as performing tests andmeasurements. Older graduates are less in-volved in these and more in activities requiringanalysis, research and contacts with the outsideworld. Maintenance activities are common toboth, and have a very high incidence.

There is a clear trend: technicians start workingwith more concrete activities and progressivelyengage in more abstract ones. But there areexceptions to this trend - and we need to ana-lyse these exceptions to understand the gist ofthe argument. First, some newly graduate tech-nicians are directly engaged in R&D activitieswhich require more complex abilities. Second,some of the activities reserved for more ex-perienced technicians, such as contacts withoutside clients, do not necessarily involvehigher-order intellectual skills, but otherhuman and social abilities to which we will turnlater.

8

The data also show a clear pattern of careerprogression, and a certain consistency betweenthe tasks performed and the level of skills re-quired. For certain activities (outside contacts,etc.), experience and time with the firm areconsidered essential. These two observationsseem to hold across the various types of firms -and thus might reflect shared perceptionsabout the abilities of the graduates. But thisconsistency is not complete. Some firmsengage recent graduates directly into R&Dactivities - and this is not related to the profileof the technicians, but to that of the firm or thework within it. In other words, the exceptionsillustrate that a technician is expected to per-form a wide range of jobs upon starting theircareers and this entails training in a number ofvaried and highly complex skills.

For our immediate purposes here, it is moreimportant to understand the nature rather thanthe range of the symbolic activities required ofa technician - immediately after graduation ora few years later. We will need to differentiatesymbolic from concrete, action-centered ac-tivities, and for that we need to understandwhat "symbolic" means.

A symbol is a means, through which some ef-fects are produced. It generates interpreta-tions for which meaning is not given a priori,and cannot be related to an immediate context(see Zuboff, 19.. p.76). Meaning must be con-structed through the manipulation of abstractinformation. What a technician does in hiswork is to understand the dynamics of a circuit,a system or electronic equipment. And he doesit by constructing meanings through intellec-tual manipulation and inte etation (of sym-bols). He has to relate symbolic information tothe concrete reality - a malfunction, for ex-ample - and he does so by asking questions suchas: what is happening? What does this signalmean? This signal, or symbol, is an abstraction.Its meaning needs to be constructed by apply-

3

ing hypothetico-deductive reasoning to the in-formation coming from the object. Whatevermeaning is constructed it is only remotely re-lated to the daily sense experience and that is

why it is abstract.

Two levels of complexity are involved in thisprocess. The first and moresimple involves thecapacity to relate symbols (alphabet, numbers,measurements, instructions) to the real world.The second refers to the symbols as elementsof thinking about abstract functions and rela-tions between variables and systems (op. cit., p.

79).

These two levels of complexity provide someinitial hints to help us interpret the tasks of ourtechnicians as a function of time on the job.The first level is closer to the activities of thenew graduate: he starts by testing (c9rformityto a pattern) and applying the symbolic lan-

guage to the real world. The second level re-quires a more experienced technician, who is

able to deal in a more abstract way with thesymbols and their relationships, and to createnew information or new knowledge (testinghypothesis, R&D activities).

Let us now examine the nature and the in-cidence of the activities performed by our tech-nicians. The most typical activities (usingconventional tools, components and equip-ments) require relatively less intellectual effort- even though they require a great deal ofspecific and technical information. They re-quire identification and understanding of basicrules to operate and use the equipment. Wecan call these Type I complexity, according to

our previous definition.

We must not forget, however, that even in thecase of these technicians, the intellectua!abilities required to perform their jobs is highlysymbolic. They require specific knowledge, theability to interpret information, to performmeasurements, and even to produce informa-tion and new knowledge, for example, "readand interpret circuits", "research and identifydefects", "read and interpret instructionalmanuals", "interpret results of measurements ".From his first day at work, the technician mustbe able to transform verbal and numerical sym-

bols into information in order to solve emerg-ing problems. He will need to use numericaland mathematical ability to transform numbersinto information and decision. He will need tobe able to read in two languages - his own andpossibly English - to be able to make sense outof the manuals and instructions related to theequipment, devices and systems. He has tomake correct inferences. For these electronictechnicians, to perform a job well is no longersynonymous with being dexterous with hishands. Doing a job well means the ability todeal with symbols to solve concrete problems.

In the case of older graduates, the incidence ofcertain types of activities is correlated withtheir increased ability to progressively incor-porate more complex intellectual activities,such as "to adapt circuits", to "execute projectsinvolving circuits and equipment", or to per-form "quality control", not to speak of typicalR&D activities. All these activities require themastery of the principles of the functioning ofthe equipment, systems or circuits. Somequality control functions, for example, requireknowledge of calculus and probabilities. Herewe are almost exclusively in the realm of level

II complexity.

As noted before, we are dealing with ag-gregates, averages of industries and tasks. Weare also artificially separating individuals intotwo groups, according to length of service orexpe rience (three years). It is certainly veryuseful to illustrate the range of skills expectedand actually performed by these technicalworkers. Even though these procedures permithighlighting of some distinctive characteristicsof the work of technicians, they may mask a fewothers.

A first distinction has to do with organisationalpractices. 17;,-ms might prefer to allocate somefunctions to older employees for reasons whichhave nothing to do with abstraction or abilityto deal with symbols. For example, some com-panies ..right prefer to expose only theemployees with more knowledge of the firm totheir clients. Or they might want the tech-nicians to experiment with the realities ofproduction and maintenance before involving

94

them in planning, quality control or other moresophisticated functions. Here we are talkingabout a different type of multi-skilling require-ment, but which does not necessarily involvemore complex symbolic reasoning.

A second distinction masked by the averagesshown on figure 1 is even more germane to ourdiscussion. Let us examine the specific case ofmaintenance. Trouble-shooting - i.e. applyingdecision rules to specific problem situations -does indeed require symbolic and abstractreasoning - and increasingly so depending onthe variety and complexity of the tasks. As wesaw in figure 1, this is the most typical functionof technicians, younger or older. But this is alsothe most common source of frustration ex-pressed by employers and technicians, as willbe analysed in the next section.

In fact, in many industries in Brazil and abroadsome of the maintenance functions are per-formed by non-diploma technicians, or byoperators receiving relatively reducedamounts of training. This is one type of multi -skilling ( upskilling of lower level workers) notbeing analysed here. This upskilling is possibleeven in the absence of more conceptual andbroad-based training, because there is a num-ber of maintenance activities which can be con-fined to simpler, repetitive problems. Thesymbolic activities can be reduced to simplerforms, which then can be taught and learnedthrough practice and repetition.

In practice, a number of situations may obtain:non-technicians performing simple main-tenance functions; younger technicians per-forming a range of maintenance functions,from simpler to more complex; technicians per-forming both operation and maintenance func-tions - another form of multi-skilling; and oldertechnicians presumably performing more com-plex maintenance functions besides other func-tions. In each case different levels of taskcomplexity may be involved, different inten-sities of work may be required and differentcombinations of skills (multi-skilling) will be atplay.

The discussions so far led to four provisionalconclusions. First, the typical tasks faced byelectronic technicians require a relatively highlevel of abstraction and symbolic learning. Thislevel can only be attained through systematiclearning, with a sound theoretical basis. Prac-tice alone can only lead to memorisation andexecution of a limited range of repetitive tasks.

Second, the skills required of electronic tech-nicians cover a broad range of intellectual andtechnical abilities. Different companies expecttechnicians to display most of such abilitiesimmediately after graduation, thus putting ad-ditional pressure on the breadth of the trainingrequired.

Third, the term "multi-skilling" is utilised inmany different ways, and has different mean-ings, all of which, however, bring in fundamen-tal implications for training and job design.Multi-skilling is represented by the broadrange of skills expected of the technicians, asdescribed in Annex L But it also refers to jobenrichment - an operator doing maintenancechores or a maintenance technician working asoperator, or involved in quality control orR&D activities. Another meaning is derivedfrom other general abilities and non-technicaltasks also expected of these technicians - andwhich also impacts on training.

A final preliminary conclusion refers to otherbroad career expectations about electronictechnicians. There is an expectation thatelectronics will keep changing - and tech-nicians should be able to keep up with thesedevelopments - and, hence, be able to learnhow to learn. Most firms display a typical careerpattern according to which technicians are ex-pected to engage in other tasks - includingnon-technical ones, for which communication,coordination, and other social and group-re-lated skills are essential. These expectationsnot only require a broad educational back-ground, but they mostly require a generalability to learn, which is commonly calledtrainability. We will further explore this issue inthe next section.

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5

Ill. Expectations of employers and technicians

Table 1, below, gives an account of the characteristics most valued by employers of the graduatesfrom the Santa Rita electronics school.

Table 1

Characteristics of technicians Frequency

TrainabilityTheoretical knowledgeInterest in R&D activitiesPractical, rather than theoretical orientationKnowledge of techniquesKnowledge of the firm

7659342911

8

Percent

81633630128

Source: 0 Perfil do recnico de Eletronica. Santa Rita do Sapucai, 1989. Escola Tecnica FranciscoMoreira da Costa.

Employers are concerned with two majorcategories of theoretical knowledge. The firstis the basic principles lyingbehind the function-ing of electronic systems and equipment - andwhich include knowledge of physics and math-ematics, among other disciplines. Masteringthese basic concepts and principles is con-sidered important, but a second category ofknowledge is even more valued by theemployers. This is the specific disciplines whichimpart knowledge, information and technicalskills in the areas of electronics and automat-ion, but which also include topics such aspneumatics and mechanics. In other words, aclear majority of employers (63 percent) valuestudents with good academic background. Thebalance between theoretical and practicalknowledge is also a matter of concern, at leastfor 30 percent of them.

But this is not enough. Employers also wanttechnicians with some general abilities - suchas the capacity to read manuals, to read inEnglish, use statistics and probabilities in prac-tical situations, to work effectively in handlinggroups, to supervise workers, to communicatewith clients. Some employers expect schools to

11

develop such skills - others consider it as afunction of time and experience or as a respon-sibility of the firm. These expectations aboutthis other type of knowledge are subsumedunder the general term of trainability.

If it is easy to measurk theoretical knowledgethrough diplomas, credentials, grades andtests, the same cannot be said about trainability- which is the major concern of the firms (81percent). Trainability, in fact, is intimately re-lated to basic education and training, but to theemployers, it seems to go beyond that. Someexamples might help to clarify expectationsabout past, present and future learning that thestudents should acquire.

Concerning knowledge about the contents ofthe past, some employers - particularly in theless technologically advanced firms - complainthat technicians are only learning the new stuff,but failing to learn the old - such as analogcircuits.

Other employers expect technicians to be lessspecialised. The image frequently used is thatof the foreman who progressed through theranks, has an intimate knowledge of the

7

7

machines and the operations, and learned allthe tricks of the trade. Why can't schoolsprepare students with an open mind, capableof handling all the problems at once, and will-

ing to deal with practical problems as they

arise?

Santa Rita offers a unique laboratory tounder-stand the dilemmas of this transitionfrom prac-

tical to theoretical learning. As mentionedbefore, the region had no industrial traditions,and when industries came the school was al-

ready there - and many of its graduates wereimmediately employed. Very few self-madepractical technicians were hired. One of themillustrated the limits of such training: "I canhandle everything concerned with transistorsana analog circuits, but I cannot understandthe diagrams. But these new technicians canonly operate if they see the diagrams - they do

not have a feeling for what is going on ...". In

fact, this worker could only operate inductively

- sometimes very quickly - but most often bytrial and error. Such workers do not possess thecritical, abstract skills which would allow themto deal with things such as integrated circuits,where the components are displayed in com-plex systems which require theoreticalknowledge to deal with them. This exampleillustrates the increasing gap brought in byelectronics - and the rupture it presents tothose used to the practices and learning habits

of the past.

Concerning the knowledge needs of thepresent, some employers expect the schools todo even mere: "We notice that new graduateshave no idea about quality and other basicconcepts which characterise a versatileprofes-sional". Others would prefer to see graduatesable to communicate properly, to read manualsin English, or to immediately become effectivesupervisors or research assistants. In thespecific case of Santa Rita, there is alsc a per-ceived lack of administrative, marketing andother organisational skills - and someemployers would like the technical school to domore in these areas as well.

When it comes to defining the knowledgenecessary to deal with the future, the

employers are unanimous, at least in the dis-course: electronics will come to maturity, it is

an ever evolving field. Thus, we need tech-nicians in love with the discipline, open to thelearning of new developments, and able tokeep up with the state of the art. Between thediscourse and the practice, however, there ismore than a small cleavage.

As shown in figure 1, most of the jobs - and mostof the intensity of the work - are in the area ofmaintenance; firms expect technicians to becurious, to be willing to advance, to be able tolearn on the job, to keep up with the state ofthe art. But only a few firms, particularly thoseinvolved with R&D activities, provide such op-portunities. In most of the cases, job enrich-

ment is through a form ofmulti-skilling whichrequires the technician to get involved in otheractivities - some requiring simpler skills, such

as routine maintenance or operations - andsome involving other non-technical skills. Inother words, there seems to be a very fun-

damental conflict between the expectations ofemployers concerning training and aspirationsof technicians and the actual conditions forpersonal and technical development they canoffer in the workplace. They are well awarethat technology-based production cannot do

with less than a highly qualified technician;they expect this technician to continue Co learnthroughout his life. Yet, in many cases, mostofthem can offer too few opportunities for such

learning to occur.

Whether or not the jobs available and the or-ganisation of work in these firms is really able

to offer such lifelong learning opportunities isa matter of concern not only for sociologists,but for the technicians who face these jobs. Thelimited data available on the expectations ofstudents suggest that they also expectelectronics to be a lifelong experience. Histori-cally, 30 percent of the school graduates go onto higher education. Job mobility - which isfairly high for these technicians - is more oftenexplained by opportunities to learn and

develop in other firms, rather than by salary orother immediate benefits. Some graduates, for

example, preferred to leave highly structured

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4

firms in Sao Paulo to return to incipient firmsin Santa Rita in search for such opportunities.

Most of the students soon become frustratedwith maintenance jobs - not only because itinvolves only a limited portion of the learningacquired in the school, but because of whatcomes with it: work in shifts, relatively highdoses at manual work, getting dirty hands.They would also want to avoid the social stigmaassociated with these kinds of jobs.

A structural tension exists between the stu-dents expectations for a lifelong experience,the official discourse of the enterprises whichvalue trainability, the challenges of the chang-ing field of electronics, and the realities of theworkplace, where maintenance, repetitive and

routine jobs prevail for the majority of thetechnicians.

The technical school is only too well aware ofthese tensions. Yet, they perceive their jobs notonly as one of responding to industrialdemands but changing the technological levelof industry, and hence, the nature of thedemand for higher skills. This is particularlytrue of the Santa Rita school, which precededindustrialisation by 12 years, but whose exist-ence was the enabling factor which made itpossible to transform a rural coffee plantationregion into the country's second electronicstechnological park. Understanding skill re-quirements of new work technologies thus alsorequires understanding the logic of curriculumdevelopment. This is the topic of the next dis-cussion.

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IV. Thirty years of curriculum cnange

Thy' analysis of 30 years of curriculum changein the electronics school of Santa Rita doSapucal reveals another important strategy,which is characteristic of leading technicalschools. The original curriculum of this pioneerschool, created in the late 1950s, reflected thetheoretical and technology-oriented leaningsof the founder concerning the training of fu-ture technicians: Strong academiL. andtheoretical background, state-of-the-art tech-nological disciplines ahead of local marketdemands, and strong practical, hands-on orien-tat'on.

At that point in time (late fifties and earlysixties) Brazilian factories were still producingtubes for TV sets, and digital electronics wassomething that few specialists could under-stand - even in more developed countries. Thecurriculum changes introduced over timereflect how the school slowly accommodateditself to market demands without losing itsoriginal commitment to remain as a pioneer inanticipating technological changes. Table 3summarises the major evolution of curricula inthe technical school of Santa Rita do Sapucaifrom the time of its creation in 1958 to thepresent. For a detailed discussion see Pinto(1991).

Major fluctuations in the curriculum, over thisperiod of time, can be observed by analysingthe distribution of the workload devoted to theso-called basic disciplines (physics andchemistry), the applied disciplines (electricity,

1 4;

electronics, telematics) and specific techni-ques. Pure theory initially gave way to basic andapplied technology, while practical subjectssuch as drawing were virtually eliminated,reflecting the progressive introduction of in-tegrated circuits. General subjects like lan-guage and mathematics remained virtuallyunchanged during the seventies and eighties,but mathematics was slightly increased in morerecent years, reinstating the critical importanceof a sound, general background.

To state the matter succinctly: Applied techni-ques and the fashions of the day were intro-duced, abandoned, or isolated into end-orcourse specialisations. At the same time, con-tents from the pure, basic disciplines wereprogressively incorporated in the specific tech-nologic subjects. In other words, what was purein the sixties became applied in the seventies,thus leaving more room to deepen the teachingof basic disciplines, while strengthening thetheoretical content of applied subjects.

An important point to retain is the dialecticalinteraction of the school with its environment.The timing of these curriculum changes did notreflect responses to the demands of the marketfor specialists in tubes, digital or analogue cir-cuits. They indicated a real concern and an-ticipation of the new wave of technologicalchanges. This, rather than a blind response tomarket demands, seems to be the hallmark ofexcellent tech: training institutions.

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Table 2. Thirty years of curriculum change

Outside influences Curriculum changes

PHASE I 1958-1970Infant industrialisation

Strong emphasis on theory (500 hours)

Unclear labour market for graduates Strong emphasis on drawing

Heavy influence from physicists on curriculum Some emphasis on technology (electricity and

design electronics)Clear curricular distinction between science and technology

PHASE II 1970-1976High level of economic developmentDevelopment of telecommunications

Transistors begin to replace tubes

PHASE III 1976-1984Moderate economic growthDevelopment of informatics sectorIncreased sophistication of industry: morethan 700 numerically controlled machinesinstalled by 1978

PHASE IV 1984-1988Rapid growth in automation of service sectorPredominance of integrated circuits

Creation of "electronics valley' in theschool's area of influence

PHASE V 1988-presentMore emphasis on feedback from marketMarket survey with graduates and employerspointed to new requirements andexpectations, now being considered

Increased emphasis on mathematicsMore emphasis on technology: twice more electricity,3 times circuit analysis50 % less hours on physics, 60% less on chemistry,de-emphasis on drawingClear emphasis on applied topics

Marginal curriculum changesMore emphasis on language and mathematics

Starting technical EnglishSearch for a balanced curriculum

More physics & chemistryMore emphasis on understanding logic of circuits,rather than on projecting themMore specialised technological subjects: circuit analysis;industrial automationClearer integration of science & technology

More emphasis on applied scienceMore emphasis on general, humanistic education, English andsound maths backgroundMore emphasis on creativity and experimental ratherthan didactic labs

Source: Adapted from Pinto (1991)

1i

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eir

V. Conclusion

The reader may wonder whether the paper hasthe wrong title: is it really discussing the skillsof multi-skilled workers? Or is this a discussionof the skills of the conventic.nal electronicstechnician?

A simple answer would be: both, as the discus-sion reflects at the same time facts, expecta-tions and interpretations of the education andthe professional practice of the electronicstechnicians.

The skills actually taught and learnedat schoolsare indeed very basic and very broad, at least inthe technical sense. Some employers will com-plain that they are not practical enough, othersthat they do not include some specific techni-ques or skills. Overall, however, no major actorin this system would disagree that a goodelectronics technician needs a very solid basisof theory, including physics and mathematics,as well as specific technical background in thevarious areas of electronics. The core cur-riculum of the schools examined easily pass thistest.

Where actors might disagree is on matters ofcurriculum orientation - and here we find moreroom for disagreement. To a great extent, thedisagreement derives from the inconsistent ex-pectations of employers. They want trainablepeople but cannot offer too many learning andtraining opportunities. They want people witha high theoretical background - but tell themto perform routine maintenance jobs for mostof their time. They want people to keep up withthe latest developments in. their fields - buttheir firms can only absorb and incorporate somuch new machinery and equipment at a giventime.

This is not a new phenomenon,and this tensionis likely to remain alive for the time being.Behind it, however, lies a challenge for techni-cal schools not only to keep the right balance

between theory and practice - but to build upthe right expectations about future job andcareer opportunities. Another alternativewould be for schools to specialise in cateringfor specific niches of the market but this iscertainly not the case of the schoolunder study,which was born with a cosmopolitan vocation.Moreover, we have seen the limits of on-the-job, non-theoretical training in this highlysophisticated field.

But preparing graduates with a work orienta-tion takes more than words: it reflects a centralchallenge for technical training institutions.The tension between old and new knowledgeis real indeed and is permeated by theoreticaland laboratory classes - where these issues arefaced in very concrete ways. Electronics is notonly a matter of training people for trouble-shooting malfunctioning equipment in theworkplace. But even if it were, this could re-quire understanding the principles of a givenphenomenon, systems or equipment, as well astheories underpinning their changing para-digms. Moreover, in the process of advancingelectronics knowledge, the actual physicalcomponents are becoming increasinglysmaller, and their connections less visible,more oriented by scientific principles and lessby the sensory and concrete experience. Thereality of electronic thinking has to be balancedwith the reality of the workplace - and this is notrivial task. In this case, nothing seems to bemore practical than a good theory.

The workplace itself is becoming more com-plex. The supervisor is no longer able to teachthe technicians working for him - they have tobe able to read manuals, interact with suppliersand clients, discuss with engineers and desig-ners, engage in quality control activities, traintheir operators. New additional skills arenecessary. A far greater number of skills areconsidered basic: English, statistics, prob-ability, better language and communication

skills, as well as people-related skills. Technicaltraining becomes increasingly more loadedwith these demands - and only part of theseskills can be developed on the job. These areindeed basic skills which require a good, sound,basic educational system before they can befurther developed by firms. A complex work-place puts more pressure on the technicaleducation system to become more relevant -but not necessarily to produce a finished

product.

Much remains to be learned and developed inthe workplace. The worlds of work and learn-ing are becoming increasingly mixed. There is

a clear convergence from both ends. Multi-skilling is at the heart of this convergence - butis also at the heart of the intrinsic conflictsassociated with thesetwo worlds.

Firms have an economic need for multi-skilledtechnicians regardless of the way they definemulti-skills: technical and non-technical, acombination of various technical skills in thesame workers, or people able to simultaneouslyperform production and maintenance func-

tions. This is why they want multi-skilledpeople, multi-skilled technicians, for whichthey must provide differentiated salaries, chal-lenging tasks and opportunities to learn.

There is a limit to what schools can do. Theycan expand their curricula, include new topics,balance theory and practice, increase therelevante of learning, incorporate new in-dustrial habits, involve their teachers and stu-dents with realities of the workplace. But todaythey are asked to provide a sound, better andbroader general and tech, 31 education. Thisis how they become prod Ave - and respon-sive to the needs of technological develop-ment.

If schools can learn more or less quickly how torespond and adjust, more formidable obstaclesexist for firms to convert themselves into learn-ing organisations. The amazing developmentsin the area of electronics constitute an oppor-tunity for such developments to occur. Theyremain the central challenge for firms, in-dustries and entire economies to survive.

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References

Pinto, Ana M.R. 0 mundo capitalistae a "escola clissica" na transicao do Fordismo: Umaprovdvel conjugacaode interesses. Doctoral Thesis presented to the Catholic University of Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo: PUC Faculdadede Filosofia, 1990.

Zuboff, Shoshano. The Age of the Smart Machine. The Future of Work and Power. NewYork, Basic Books, Inc.,1988.

1 c.)

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Annex I

Typical tasks of electronics technicians in Brazilian enterprises

1. Activities

2. Time for graduation

Up to three years

More than three years

3. Specific knowledgeSpecify electronic components

Specify equipment

Identify electronic components

4. InterpretationInterpret results of measurements

Read and interpret schemes

Trouble-shooting

Read and interpret technical manuals

Read and interpret technical norms

Prepare and organise technical documentation

Interpret and execute technical drawing

Perform literature reviews

Communicate in technical English

5. Tests and measurements

Perform measurements of systems

Perform measurements of equipment

Test and adjust systems

Test electronic components

Test and adjust equipment

1:3

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6. ApplicationAdapt circuits

Implement small projects

Implement major projects

Install equipment and systems

Provide maintenance

Provide quality control

7. ProductionResearch on new products

Basic research

Technological research

Teaching (electronics)

8. MiscellaneousOrganise work

Technical sales

4 After-sales services

Consulting

Source: Pinto, 1990, p. 280

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