Table Of ContentMen in Manual Occupations
Kristoffer Chelsom Vogt
Men in Manual
Occupations
changing lives in tiMes Of change
© Kristofer Chelsom Vogt, 2017
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contents
Contents........................................................................................................................ 5
Chapter 1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 9
Overview and outline of the chapters ........................................................................................ 12
Chapter 2 Background and context: Progress, education and manual work .......... 17
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 17
Education and progress: The wider context in the history of ideas .................................... 18
Persistent patterns of educational mobility in Norway ........................................................ 24
Vocational education in Norway ................................................................................................ 26
Increased hegemony of school based learning and knowledge ......................................... 29
Manual work in the “post-industrial knowledge society” ..................................................... 31
Mythical and actual changes in the employment structure ................................................ 32
Chapter 3 Methods and research design ................................................................ 35
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 35
A contextualist life course perspective with a grounded biographical
case-study approach ..................................................................................................................... 35
The research process .................................................................................................................... 39
The sampling ............................................................................................................................. 39
The survey ................................................................................................................................. 40
The interviews ........................................................................................................................... 42
The Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 44
The presentation ...................................................................................................................... 49
Chapter 4 Changing school to work transitions ...................................................... 51
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 51
The transition context for the older cohort ............................................................................. 53
Transitions in a family and community context ................................................................ 53
Arvid: skilled as a bricklayer, born 1950 ....................................................................... 53
Karsten: skilled as an industrial mechanic, born in 1949 ......................................... 54
Helge: skilled as an industrial plumber, born in 1952 ................................................ 55
The household economy: the transition as a family matter .......................................... 57
Geir: skilled as a plumber, born in 1950 ........................................................................ 57
5
cont ent s
Clear advice from unskilled fathers: “get skilled in a trade!” ......................................... 59
Atle: skilled as a bricklayer, born in 1949 ..................................................................... 60
Trying out work and proving talents by practice, as unskilled workers ...................... 62
Arne: skilled as a bricklayer, born in 1948. ................................................................... 63
The transition context of the younger cohort ......................................................................... 66
Transitions institutionalised as choice ................................................................................ 66
School fatigue and educational choice ............................................................................... 67
Rune: skilled as a plumber, born in 1979 ...................................................................... 68
Secure choices .......................................................................................................................... 70
Roger: skilled as a plumber, born in 1979 ...................................................................... 71
Magne: skilled as a builder, born in 1978 ..................................................................... 72
Steinar: skilled as a plater, born in 1978........................................................................ 74
The basis of secure choices in experience based knowledge ....................................... 76
Thomas: skilled as an industrial mechanic, born in 1978. ........................................ 76
Terje: skilled as an industrial mechanic, born in 1979 ............................................... 79
The priority of different types of knowledge in the school-to-work
transitions of the younger cohort ......................................................................................... 82
Concluding discussion ............................................................................................................ 85
Chapter 5 Approaches to work in the context of experience
and action .................................................................................................................... 91
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 91
The motivation to take charge and pursue entrepreneurship ............................................. 93
Harald: skilled as an industrial plumber, born in 1951 ............................................... 95
Arne: skilled as a bricklayer, born in 1949 .................................................................... 97
Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 98
The motivation for more autonomy and the action of “scaling down”............................ 101
Bjarte: skilled as a builder, born in 1950 ..................................................................... 102
Rune: skilled as a plumber, born in 1979 .................................................................... 103
Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 105
The experience of becoming burnt out and the action of finding shelter ...................... 106
Geir: skilled as a plumber, born in 1950 ...................................................................... 107
Bjørn: skilled as a builder, born in 1950 ...................................................................... 109
Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 111
The experience of becoming content and the action of adapting
in the present .................................................................................................................................. 112
Jon: skilled as a plater, born in 1951 ............................................................................... 113
Steinar: skilled as an industrial mechanic, born in 1979 .......................................... 115
Rolf: skilled as a plumber, born in 1979 ........................................................................ 122
Jan: skilled as a plater, born in 1950 ............................................................................. 125
Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 129
Concluding discussion ................................................................................................................. 131
6
cont ent s
Chapter 6 Upward mobility over the life course ................................................... 137
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 137
Types of further education: an overview .......................................................................... 139
Upward mobility in the older cohort ........................................................................................ 141
Helge: skilled as an industrial plumber, born in 1952 ............................................... 141
Knut: skilled as an industrial mechanic, born in 1951 .............................................. 143
Johan: skilled as a plater, born in 1949 ........................................................................ 146
Upward mobility in the younger cohort .................................................................................. 150
Roger: skilled as a plumber, born in 1979 ................................................................... 150
Thomas: skilled as an industrial mechanic, born in 1978 ........................................ 155
Tor: skilled as an industrial mechanic, born in 1979 ................................................ 158
Concluding discussion ................................................................................................................ 159
Chapter 7 In dialogue with objects over the life course and in everyday life ........ 165
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 165
Transcending and non-specialised approaches to work ..................................................... 167
Birger: skilled as a builder, born in 1948 ..................................................................... 168
Stig: skilled as a plater, born in 1978 ............................................................................ 170
Cooperation across generations and the inclusive approach to household work ........ 173
Harald: skilled as an industrial plumber, born in 1951 .............................................. 174
Tor: skilled as an industrial mechanic, born in 1979 ................................................. 176
Lars: skilled as a bricklayer, born in 1979 ................................................................... 179
The strong drive to work and distaste for non-productive use of time ........................... 181
Trond: skilled as an industrial mechanic, born in 1978 ............................................ 181
Steinar: skilled as an industrial mechanic, born in 1979 ......................................... 184
Exchanging favours ...................................................................................................................... 185
Rune: skilled as a plumber, born in 1979 .................................................................... 186
Concluding discussion ................................................................................................................ 189
Chapter 8 Object based work in relation to other types of work .......................... 195
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 195
The opposition to office work ................................................................................................... 198
Stig: skilled as a plater, born in 1978 ............................................................................ 198
Knut: skilled as an industrial mechanic, born in 1951 .............................................. 199
Relationship to object based work ..................................................................................... 201
Jon: skilled as a plater, born in 1951 ............................................................................ 202
Karsten: skilled as an industrial mechanic, born in 1949 ...................................... 206
Relationship to analysis based work ................................................................................ 209
Geir: skilled as a plumber, born in 1950 ..................................................................... 209
Arne: skilled as a bricklayer, born in 1948 .................................................................. 219
A typology of types of work ....................................................................................................... 225
Concluding discussion ................................................................................................................ 227
7
cont ent s
Chapter 9 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 231
The background for approaches to work and education in contextualised
practice and action ....................................................................................................................... 232
Types of work, not specific occupations ................................................................................ 234
Exclusionary consequences of formalisation and increased focus on
formal education ...........................................................................................................................235
Reflections on concepts in research on work and education ............................................ 238
Appendix 1 The survey (translated version) ......................................................... 241
Appendix 2 The interview guide (translated version) ......................................... 245
Appendix 3 Overview of cases .............................................................................. 249
References ................................................................................................................. 251
Tables
1 T he priority of different types of knowledge (in the educational choices of the
younger cohort). .........................................................................................................................83
2 T ypes of experience in work situations, related types of action and necessary
structural conditions. .................................................................................................................94
3 Main types of education (considered and pursued) ....................................................... 139
4 Types of work (and focus of work tasks)............................................................................226
8
