Skill and the Capability Approach at Work

This paper briefly surveys how the capability approach originally conceived by Sen has been adapted and applied by different disciplinary perspectives for a range of purposes.  Then, using the arena of the workplace and the issue of skill, the paper explores how a sociological viewpoint might contribute to the operationalisation of the capability approach. 

Skill, in and for the workplace, is a significant plank in the economic growth strategies of many governments. Political economy views tend to dominate skill debates focusing on quantifying and comparing the outcomes of different policy regimes. Sociology, along with economics and political science, is a key contributor to political economy analyses. The paper outlines how using the capability approach to analyse high skills policy prescriptions highlights flaws in these visions.  Importantly it is argued that this holistic view facilitated by the capability approach may better accommodate overlapping policy agendas and thus overcome issues of policy fragmentation.  The paper then argues that sociology can augment and improve such discussions with a return to its core concerns for social processes and norm construction. Flowing from this it proposes that illuminating conversion factors may be the most important contribution of sociology to the practical and theoretical development of the capability approach.  The paper then draws on workplace research to illustrate the importance of understanding and addressing conversion factors in order to enable opportunity freedoms (capabilities) for individuals, groups, communities and societies. Conclusions are drawn on the questions that sociology asks, the research methods that sociology employs, and the potential contribution to the development of the capability approach as an analytical tool and as a process of engagement with others.