Push for Terminology Change: Unskilled/Low-Skill
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Definition
“Unskilled” or “low-skill” is used to describe both a type of labor and those who perform it; for simplicity I generally refer to “unskilled/low-skill labor,” but my talking points also apply to workers as well.
Unskilled labor, or low-skill labor, is a term used by many organizations and agencies to describe “work that requires little or no experience or training to do or consists of routine tasks.” This type of labor is also characterized by lower educational attainment, and therefore the workers have ‘limited skills.’ Investopedia states that this is an “outdated” term.
The Problem
The general idea behind skilled vs unskilled labor is that flipping burgers takes less skill than performing brain surgery, but as Brittany Bronson points out, “When you measure work as the value it brings to a company, ‘a neurosurgeon at McDonald's is useless to McDonald's.’” While learning how to perform brain surgery requires extensive training, that doesn’t mean that learning how to prep food and cook it well in a sanitary environment is easy, not to mention dealing with customer dietary needs and preferences. And let’s not get into all that servers and bartenders need to learn and manage.
During the pandemic, it quickly became apparent that ‘unskilled’ workers were essential to our economy and way of life, yet they are the lowest-paid workers. Despite the praise for their ‘sacrifice,’ not much was done to improve their salaries or working conditions. Now, there is a shortage of ‘unskilled’ workers; nobody wants to take on these jobs because they don’t pay well and the workers aren’t treated well by their employers and by society. Many business leaders don’t support their low-wage workers in their policies or even the most basic way: raising their wages in times of need. Many politicians regularly demean those they deem ‘unskilled’ workers and suggest that these workers need to address their skill “deficiencies” in order to improve their living conditions.
Educational attainment has become an indication of skill, but “a 2011 study found 45 percent of students showed ‘no significant gains in learning’ after two years in college.” And even if someone has a college degree, “the Federal Reserve found only about 27% of people have jobs related to their college major.” Attaining a college degree is more of an indication of income level and race than skill level. Annie Lowery points out that some workers shunted into ‘unskilled’ jobs lack experience or qualifications accepted in the US (they have degrees from other countries that aren’t recognized in the US).
Some jobs that are considered ‘low-skill’ now require more skills, yet are still considered ‘low-skill.’ I used to work at a childcare company, and yes, many people consider us “glorified babysitters.” Well, I’m sure all the parents out there can confirm that ‘watching’ children is not at all easy, and though we don’t pay for their stuff or answer a lot of the harder question children may ask us, childcare is not a ‘low-skill’ job whatsoever. We have to make sure they’re safe (e.g., preventing them from getting hurt, maintain sanitary environment, encourage healthy habits, watch out for allergies, mandated reporting to CPS, etc.). We have to make sure they’re happy (e.g., monitor and improve their emotional well-being, manage social disputes, create new and exciting activities, etc.). We also need to establish and maintain relationships with parents to facilitate healthy communication, which helps us do our job more effectively. Our company regularly held trainings to improve our skill and expand our skill set. Childcare is hard enough, but our jobs got even more complex during my eight years in childcare.
I did all that five days a week with 70-150 kids at a time for $12/hour. I could have received a promotion and gotten a pay raise if I completed some child development courses, which I never did because I didn’t want to pursue a career in childcare. Even without the added responsibilities of a higher position, us low-level aides did a lot (see above), so I always felt outrage on behalf whenever someone would ask about when I would get “a real job.” I bet if a member of congress (or anyone else really) had to supervise 25 kindergarteners at a pumpkin patch, childcare workers and other ‘low-skill’ workers would be treated with a lot more respect.
Alternatives
As translators (and interpreters), we are sometimes bound by guidelines or client requirements to use certain terms, that’s just a fact of our profession. Yet we also have the power to change the way we discuss an issue in our target language. We can advise or suggest, or even insist, our clients use terms that better reflect the feelings, representation, or cause involved. This blog series isn’t meant to disparage the usage of a certain term; it’s meant to present terms that (many) people find problematic and some potential alternatives.
The most common alternative used is a more precise description of ‘unskilled/low-skill’ labor: low-wage labor. It’s not exactly a positive term, but that’s only because it indicates how these workers are treated (which is not great). Another cool alternative (though it probably can only be used in certain contexts) is to refer to low-wage workers as STARs or “skilled through alternative routes.” This term was coined by a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.