Manual Workers, Good Jobs and Structured Internal Labour Markets

An empirical study of the labor practices of a sample of South Wales engineering firms revealed that they could be characterized as structured internal labor markets in that they: 1. carefully screened new entrants, 2. classified the workforce according to skill levels, 3. adopted rigid pay structur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of industrial relations 1985-11, Vol.23 (3), p.425-447
Main Authors: George, K. D., Shorey, John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Economic models
Economic theory
Engineering firms
Hypotheses
Labor market
Mobility
Polls & surveys
Statistical analysis
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Summary:An empirical study of the labor practices of a sample of South Wales engineering firms revealed that they could be characterized as structured internal labor markets in that they: 1. carefully screened new entrants, 2. classified the workforce according to skill levels, 3. adopted rigid pay structures linked to skill levels, 4. provided continuous job training, 5. promoted from within, and 6. experienced low turnover levels. The quality of jobs in these firms was thus somewhat higher than in firms without structured internal labor markets. These results support labor market segmentation theory that workers in the primary sector (firms with structured internal labor markets) have access to better jobs than workers in the secondary sector (firms with unstructured internal labor markets). However, because of the recruitment and advancement practices in structured internal labor markets, it cannot be expected that primary sector expansion would lead to significant improvements in the job opportunities of disadvantaged workers.
ISSN:0007-1080
1467-8543
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-8543.1985.tb00203.x