Our first lecture was on the demise of skilled manufacturing with Craig Whittet. Craig proposed the idea that skilled manufacturing is sadly a declining craft.
But why is this?
Is it because people don't value high quality products as much any more? Is it that they don't value skillfully produced products, instead being happy with more modern mechanised manufacturing? Perhaps people don't value skilled workers themselves? Do people actually know or care at all how a product is manufactured, or are they more interested in the object itself? Or it it just that skilled workers are hard to come by, as people are attracted to other careers?
The first case study we looked at was Manolo Blahnik -http://www.manoloblahnik.com/ . He designs highly sought-after shoes, with a typical price of £875. These shoes are made with highly skilled labour in China - a country where that £875 would be many months' wages for a typical skilled worker. Surely the high price of the finished product implies that at least a few people care about skilfully hand-made shoes. But is this contradicted by the apparently low value attributed to the people who make them - by the company and perhaps the customer as well?
Similar points are raised with Tricker's, a UK family owned shoe brand. http://www.trickers.com/ Their shoes range from around £250 up to £6000 for custom-made products. Clearly Tricker's produce a range of shoes within a reasonable price range for a lot of people, certainly many more than Blahnik's do. So again, this suggests that people do want - and are prepared to pay for - the products of skilled manufacturing.
Perhaps the low wages associated with an apprenticeship are the cause of the decline. While the minimum wage for an unskilled job are around £6/hour, the wages for an apprenticeship in to a skilled job are less than half that. This is bound to put some people off - but I'm not being paid at all to go to university. I'm actually paying a lot to be here! So surely if people were interested in skilled manufacturing, and if it had a promising future, they would be willing to invest in their future. Maybe that does suggest that people simply don't value skilled jobs - so is it a social issue?
As a final point, Brooks Saddles (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9w-y24Waz4) were recently bought out by an Italian company. Brooks, once the world's largest manufacturer of bicycle saddles, were in debt, but the Italians recognised the value in the tradition and legacy of the products. Their products are once again in high demand, and are produced "in the hands of those who posses an unequalled experience in their work."
Perhaps skilled manufacturing is making a comeback.
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