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This article presents the findings of research on the European steel industry as it transitions toward Industry 4.0. Drawing on data generated through semi-structured interviews, the authors reflect on the distinction between routine and non-routine work which has informed much recent research on technology effects on jobs. First, they propose to distinguish between 'deterministic' and 'probabilistic' technological approaches, the latter illustrative of the Industry 4.0 model and characterised by the use of algorithms and statistical learning. Next, the authors maintain that jobs that have been labelled as 'routine' may entail a range of tasks that Industry 4.0 technologies remain unable to entirely automatise, which has led to broadening skillsets and a prominence acquired by transversal skills. Hence, the authors suggest overcoming the routine/non-routine dichotomy and deterministic assumptions on workers' substitution in favour of a continuum-based conceptualisation of tasks and a more nuanced investigation of technology effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important driver of change in work, employment and skills is European Union policy aims of sustainable economic growth and the cultivation of a green economy. Part of the latter--which is supported by increasing environmental regulation--focuses on the development of a "green skills agenda," which involves the "greening" of existing occupations as well as meeting the skill needs of new environmental sectors and occupations. In this paper, we compare attempts to 'green' work and skills through an examination of engineering apprenticeships within the German and British steel industries. We argue that efforts to "green" skills are taking place at varying degrees of intensity, mostly because of variations in institutional context. The evidence we present suggests that implementation of change is much more dynamic in the context of Coordinated Market Economies such as Germany, where development is shaped by robust VET frameworks and wider processes of environmental innovation. In contrast, within Liberal Market Economies such as the UK, there are significant barriers to the vision for and investments in skills generally, as well as those necessary for greening the labour process, with an extant development paradigm that is driven by short-term benefits and a limited focus on environmental compliance.

This paper is a case study of collaboration between a large steel company and a university's school of engineering. Our aim is to contribute to understandings of engagement between employers and higher education institutions and explore some of the complexities of such collaborations in their initiation and propagation. The analysis derives from case study research of a Centre of Excellence, as a collaborative venture. What becomes evident in the analysis is the often uneven and complex nature of collaboration and the difficulties that derive from the specifics of (higher education and industry) sector (contractual and organisational, as well as learning) practices, policies and cultures. Of central importance to propagating a relationship is moving beyond initial customer-supplier relationships towards more deeply embedded forms of engagement. The aim in this respect is to develop and diversify collaboration activities. This, we argue, necessitates close consideration of the respective partners' operational goals and structures--across, we suggest, three aspects of mutual engagement--and the way in which they are accommodated and mutually recognised within (and beyond) contractual relationships.

This paper is concerned with the relationship between trade unions and learning in the workplace, particularly in relation to the enhancement of worker employability profiles. With the restructuring and modernising of the European steel industry as its context, this paper argues that the organisational and structural features of a sector have a profound influence on the way workplace learning is organised. Equally, trade union organisation and approaches also shape the learning agenda. In the steel industry, trade unions have failed to address the significance of workplace learning, partly because of the ways that they approach this topic. In the context of traditional sectors, with relatively vulnerable workforces, the weakened state of union bargaining positions means that they have limited capacity to address workforce employability or workplace participation. The outcome is that trade union involvement in skill formation and workplace learning is marginal. (Contains 1 note.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to open up discussion about the relationship between trade unions and workplace learning. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on an analysis of a series of case-studies of restructuring in the European steel industry, incorporating interviews, observation and documentary analysis. Findings: The paper argues that trade unions often fail to address the significance of workplace learning for members, because they address workplace learning as a service. This approach fails to exploit opportunities and possibilities to extend workplace-learning provisions, and thereby meet the wider learning and employability enhancing needs of members. The outcome is that trade union involvement in skill formation and workplace learning is marginal, and contributes to the perpetuation of traditional sector practices and regressive learning provisions. Research limitations/implications: The paper focuses on a discussion of trade union involvement in workplace learning in the European steel industry. The implications for workplace learning practices more generally, are limited to industries where trade unions (and companies/industry) organise in relation to training and learning agendas in similar ways--and in relation to industries undergoing similar process of restructuring and "modernisation." Practical implications: The paper provides a critique of trade union service approaches to learning agendas and highlights for policy-makers gaps in current learning provisions within industry. Originality/value: This paper makes an original contribution to debates concerned with trade union involvement and participation in workplace learning. It focuses on workplace inequities in training provision, and the implications for the future of unions and the employability prospects of workforces within the European steel industry. (Contains 1 table and 1 note.)

The focus in recent studies of workplace learning has been on "communities of practice" and the ways that learning is shaped by such communities. In the process, there has been a downplaying of the importance of broader institutional arrangements, including the impact of organisational structures and management practice, as well as national systems of Vocational Education and Training. This paper draws attention to the importance of these organisational processes in structuring workplace learning. We argue that the institutional arrangements that define organisations are decisive in defining the parameters of workplace learning. In relation to traditional industries, such as steel, the opportunities for time-served workers employed in production areas to learn their work and enhance their expertise is characterised by a set of embedded and regressive practices. These practices hinder the adoption of new forms of working practices and leave many steelworkers vulnerable to the broader effects of industry restructuring. (Contains 1 figure.)

Digital technology is gradually changing the organisation of production and work. In this article, the authors explore the implications of such developments for workers through the lens of skill, and the skill needs developing out of the shift towards Industry 4.0 technologies now being employed within the European steel industry. Specifically, the article examines the preparedness of initial vocational training systems to support adaptation to Industry 4.0 and the changes in work and employment that will follow. The article addresses such developments from the point of view of institutional theory, analysing how different institutional architectures influence responses to change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many traditional regions are undergoing change and transformation as industries restructure. The development of ‘green economies’ and the transition to a low-carbon economy offers areas experiencing industrial decline an opportunity to innovate around policies for regeneration. In this process, there is a necessary emphasis on skills development and the creation of decent jobs, but institutional context mediates such processes in different places in different ways. This article argues that an effective transition policy is more likely to emerge where a mutually reciprocal relationship is developed between the state qua government and the social groups that comprise the region, including employers and workers and their representatives. Utilising a ‘varieties of capitalism’ typology in relation to areas of industrial decline in Germany and the UK, the article illustrates the ways in which transition policies are elaborated and implemented, with an explicit focus on decent job creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]