Cualificación, socialización y terciarización

Abstract

During the last two decades the problem of skill has come to be a key theme in debates about active employment policies and strategies for economic modemization. In such debates the concept of skill tends to be employed in a manner which does not reflect its complexity. The article seeks to remedy this. First it makes the distinction between the socio-cultural and the technical/professional dimensions of the concept ( the technical/professional can be further broken down into explicit and tacit skills.). Secondly, the distinction is made between the skills of the worker (effective) and the skills associated with the job he/she occupies (nominal) and the possibility of a lack of fit between the two. Skills are seen as the product of a process of social construction which is different from its technical definition. Finally the article considers the issue of how and where skills are acquired and examines the discussion on the relationship between skills and technological change.