These days, there is a distinct role called “technologist”. While technologists are clearly recognised in the USA and Canada, in the UK the role is much less well articulated and is not recognised in the UK Standard Occupational Classification (SOC).…
Continue ReadingTo get a real-world feel for our observations on technologist occupations made in previous posts, Blue Mirror Insights took a two-week snapshot of online technologist job postings across engineering and manufacturing sectors in October 2019. Our research took in jobsites…
Continue ReadingWhat does the future hold for jobs? What are the ones seen to be emerging over the next 10 years? Two studies have attempted to answer this question, and the results of them are listed in the table below1,2. It…
Continue ReadingDid you realise Leonardo de Vinci is recognised as having created the first known and recorded CV? He did this back in 1482. But while the CV has since been formalised (1950s), personalised (1960s) and templated (1970s), it is surprising…
Continue ReadingFlexible rigidities1 … occupational boundaries and working principles Take a few minutes to watch someone performing their role at work. Then record what you have seen using the best (digital) work study methods. Now compare your records with what another…
Continue ReadingOver the last 5-10 years there have been a series of major studies seeking to establish the likely impact of automation and artificial intelligence on work, jobs and occupations1. These studies have generally used existing standard occupational classifications, sometimes linked…
Continue Reading“Of clouds and clocks … clouds are intended to represent physical systems which, like gases, are highly irregular, disorderly, and more or less unpredictable. On the other extreme of our arrangement, we have a very reliable pendulum clock, intended to…
Continue ReadingAcross the world we see a few contradictory trends when it comes to classifying occupations. One trend has been to look for greater granularity (‘hunting the 5-digit occupation’1), in so doing to increase the number of occupations recognised in a…
Continue ReadingOccupations come and go, and over an extended period major shifts can be seen. The general trend in most developed western economies has been the trend towards greater professional, managerial and technical occupations, with a decline in the number of…
Continue ReadingEveryone who enters the workforce embarks upon a career of some sort. It may start with a relatively simple role that progresses to a managerial or technical role. Or it may start with a training role, like an apprenticeship. It…
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