Overview:

When training programs have been completed and the graduates are ready to go to work, they have a collection of skills (essential and technical) that are readily available both to them and to the employer. Unfortunately, research shows that many people who enter the workforce with numerous available skills, no longer have some of those skills a few years later. This is often a direct result of being employed in jobs that do not fully utilize their potential, a poorly designed job.

Currently there is a great deal of concern in all of Canada, including the north, around the shortage of skilled labour. The Canadian labour force is predicted to experience shortages due to greater worker demand than worker availability and skill demands that cannot be met by the existing workforce. There are a number of approaches that can be utilized to combat skills shortages. Skills can be upgraded, emigration reduced and immigration increased and, of increasing interest to employers and workers, workplace and human resource management patterns can be revised. This is where ideas on job design can be incorporated.

Job design refers to the way work is organized. How a job is designed has a major effect on the retention of workers’ skills once they enter the workplace, degree of job satisfaction, worker retention and productivity. Jobs may be organized by task or by skill sets. Organizing by task narrows the scope of the skills required and may not utilize an individual’s full potential. Organizing jobs by skill set enriches the work experience by creating opportunities for individual achievement and recognition by broadening the scope of the skills required and increasing responsibility and accountability.

Strong essential skills are critical to worker success in enriched jobs. Designing jobs to include elements of team work, communication and thinking skills including critical thinking, problem solving and decision making is of paramount importance for the maintaining essential skills of workers.