Conceptualizing Low-Skillness : A New Approach

This study reviews conceptual and empirical literature studying low-skilled and proposes more comprehensive and dynamic conceptualization of low-skillness. Our work is based on analysing the sources of being and of becoming low-skilled by reviewing structural processes underlying changes in labour markets and their varied impact on the individuals of different characteristics. We suggest a broader conceptualization of low-skillness which surpasses the dominant qualification-based approach and measurement of low-skillness by the attained level of education. In addition to the typically included low-educated, our typology includes categories of workers who might be formally well-educated, experienced and trained but have been drawn into low-skillness as an outcome of structural forces or institutional barriers. A broader conceptualization and measurement of low-skillness can better reveal the variety of its causes and in turn allow designing better suited policies for economic and social integration