This paper addresses the problem of low-status or ‘bad’ jobs (Kalleberg, et al.2000) in the occupations of truck driver and personal care assistant, and explores skill-based strategies for making these jobs better. The paper grapples with conceptualizations of low status jobs within theories...

There are at least three problems in the measurement of skill - aggregation, dynamism, and codification. Skill is an individual and collective capacity, expressed in performance and reflected in outcomes. Aggregate measures relying on proxies such as occupational entry qualifications may not...