Flexible skills for flexible manufacturing

Abstract This paper briefly reviews some of the employment implications of the current trend towards computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). It draws on empirical studies of the diffusion and operation of flexible manufacturing systems in the UK since these can be considered as "islands of automation" on the way to full CIM. The paper concludes that organisational change - including major changes in the patterns of em-ployment and work organisation - is necessary in order to obtain the full benefits offered by the new technologies of CIM.