Swarbrick, Alexander Lewis
(1990)
Shortage and utilisation of engineering skills in the electronics industry: A case study in British television manufacturing.
MPhil thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
This research drew on the findings of the Finniston Inquiry on the shortage of engineering skills in the U.K.. It is a critical evaluation of much of the relevant research conducted before and since that inquiry and is a record of an original case study conducted in the British electronics industry. The plant chosen manufactured Televisions, video Cassette Recorders and Printed Circuit Boards, and was experiencing a technical skill shortage. The firm had recently undergone internal reorganisation in response to changes in the product market. The investigation took the form of a questionnaire survey, in depth interviews and non-participant observations. The results showed links between the perceived skill shortage and labour turnover, dissatisfaction among the engineers and poor skill utilisation, poor market performance and inappropriate organisational systems. This thesis therefore suggests that the perceived engineering skill shortage in the firm studied is symptomatic of a company adapting to a dynamic and volatile product market, and that the problems facing the U.K. engineering industry as a whole are unlikely to be solved by isolated strategies aimed at raising salaries or status, improving education or increasing investment. Companies must focus attention on developing Human Resource Management policies which reflect the conditions of the product market, the internal and external labour market and which, by reducing dissatisfaction and turnover, maximise the utilisation of the skills available. This, it is believed will work to the benefit of the company, the industry and the engineering profession in the U.K.
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