Deskilling

Deskilling is the process by which skilled labor within an industry or economy is eliminated by the introduction of technologies operated by semiskilled or unskilled workers. This results in cost savings due to lower investment in human capital, and reduces barriers to entry, weakening the bargaining power of the human capital.

Deskilling can also refer to individual workers specifically. The term refers to a person becoming less proficient over time. Examples of how this can occur include changes in one's job definition, moving to a completely different field, chronic underemployment (e.g. working as cashier instead of accountant), and being out of the workforce for extended periods of time (e.g. quitting a position in order to focus exclusively on child-rearing).

It is criticized for decreasing quality, demeaning labor (rendering work mechanical, rather than thoughtful and making workers automatons rather than artisans), and undermining community.

Examples of deprofessionalization can be found across many professions, and include:

Work is fragmented, and individuals lose the integrated skills and comprehensive knowledge of the crafts persons.

In an application to the arts, Benjamin Buchloh defines deskilling as "a concept of considerable importance in describing numerous artistic endeavors throughout the twentieth century with relative precision. All of these are linked in their persistent effort to eliminate artisanal competence and other forms of manual virtuosity from the horizon of both artist competence and aesthetic valuation."1

1 Buchloh, Benjamin H. D. Gabriel Orozco: Sculpture as Recollection.

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