“Reskilling” is something that sounds like a buzzword but is actually a requirement if we plan to have a future where a lot of would-be workers do not get left behind. We know we are moving into a period where the jobs in demand will change rapidly, as will the requirements of the jobs that remain. Research by the World Economic Forum finds that on average 42 per cent of the “core skills” within job roles will change by 2022. That is a very short timeline.
The question of who should pay for reskilling is a thorny one. For individual companies, the temptation is always to let go of workers whose skills are no longer in demand and replace them with those whose skills are. That does not always happen. AT&T is often given as the gold standard of a company that decided to do a massive reskilling program rather than go with a fire-and-hire strategy. Other companies had also pledged to create their own plans. When the skills mismatch is in the broader economy, though, the focus usually turns to government to handle. Efforts in Canada and elsewhere have been arguably languid at best, and have given us a situation where we frequently hear of employers begging for workers, even at times and in regions where unemployment is high.
With the pandemic, unemployment is very high indeed. In February, at 3.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively, unemployment rates in Canada and United States were at generational lows and worker shortages were everywhere. As of May, those rates had spiked up to 13.3 per cent and 13.7 per cent, and although many worker shortages had disappeared, not all had done so. In the medical field, to take an obvious example, the pandemic meant that there were still clear shortages of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel.
Of course, it is not like you can take an unemployed waiter and train him to be a doctor in a few weeks. But even if you cannot close that gap, maybe you can close others, and doing so would be to the benefit of all concerned. That seems to be the case in Sweden: When forced to furlough 90 per cent of their cabin staff, Scandinavian Airlines decided to start up a short retraining program that reskilled the laid-off workers to support hospital staff. The effort was a collective one and involved other companies as well as a Swedish university.
1.Research by the World Economic Forum suggests( ).
2.AT&T is cited to show( ).
3.Efforts to resolve the skills mismatch in Canada( ).
4.We can learn from Paragraph 3 that there was( ).
5.Scandinavian Airlines decided to( ).
问题1选项
A.an increase in full-time employment
B.an urgent demand for new job skills
C.a steady growth of job opportunities
D.a controversy about the “core skills”
问题2选项
A.an alternative to the fire-and-hire strategy
B.an immediate need for government support
C.the importance of staff appraisal standards
D.the characteristics of reskilling program
问题3选项
A.have driven up labour costs
B.have proved to be inconsistent
C.have met with fierce opposition
D.have appeared to be insufficient
问题4选项
A.a call for policy adjustment
B.a change in hiring practices
C.a lack of medical workers
D.a sign of economic recovery
问题5选项
A.Great job vacancies for the unemployed
B.Prepare their laid-off workers for other jobs
C.Retrain their cabin staff for better services
D.finance their staff' s college education
第1题:B
第2题:A
第3题:D
第4题:C
第5题:B
第1题:
【选项释义】
1. Research by the World Economic Forum suggests _____. 世界经济论坛的研究建议是_____。
A. an increase in full-time employment A. 全职工作的增加
B. an urgent demand for new job skills B. 对新工作技能的迫切需求
C. a steady growth of job opportunities C. 就业稳定增长
D. a controversy about the “core skills” D. 关于“核心技能”的争议
【答案】B
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到首段倒数第二句“世界经济论坛(World Economic Forum)的研究发现,到2022年,工作岗位中平均42%的‘核心技能’将发生变化”,即人们的工作角色中的核心技能将会改变,B选项符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“全职工作的增加”,原文没有提及,属于无中生有;
C选项“就业稳定增长”,原文没有提及,属于无中生有;
D选项“关于‘核心技能’的争议”,原文没有提及,属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
2. AT&T is cited to show _____. 美国电话电报公司被引用来展示_____.
A. an alternative to the fire-and-hire strategy A. 一个解雇和雇佣策略的替代方案
B. an immediate need for government support B. 急需政府的支持
C. the importance of staff appraisal standards C. 员工评核标准的重要性
D. the characteristics of reskilling program D. 再培训项目的特点
【答案】A
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到第二段第四句“美国电话电报公司(AT&T)通常被视为一家决定实施大规模再培训计划(reskilling program),而不是(rather than)采取解聘再雇用(fire-and-hire)策略的公司的黄金标准”,也就是说为开展新技能的培训项目来增强技能实力,而不是解雇没有技能的人再雇佣其他人的形式,选项A符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
B、C、D选项原文没有提及,属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
3. Efforts to resolve the skills mismatch in Canada _____. 在加拿大解决技能不匹配的努力_____。
A. have driven up labor costs A. 已经抬高了劳动力成本
B. have proved to be inconsistent B. 已经被证明是前后矛盾的
C. have met with fierce opposition C. 遭到了激烈的反对
D. have appeared to be insufficient D. 显得不够
【答案】D
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到第二段最后一句“加拿大和其他地方的努力(Efforts)可以说是毫无成效的(arguably languid at best),这使我们经常听到雇主乞求工人,即使在失业率高的时候和地区也是如此”,说明为解决加拿大的技能不匹配问题所做的努力是不够、不充分的。选项D符合。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、C选项原文没有提及,属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
4. We can learn from Paragraph 3 that there was _____. 我们可以从第三段了解到_____。
A. a call for policy adjustment A. 政策调整的呼声
B. a change in hiring practices B. 招聘方式的改变
C. a lack of medical workers C. 缺乏医务人员
D. a sign of economic recovery D. 经济复苏的迹象
【答案】C
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到文章第三段,该段最后一句提到“举一个明显的例子,在医疗领域,疫情意味着医生、护士和其他医务人员仍然明显短缺(clear shortages)”,因此,选项C正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B选项原文没有提及,属于无中生有;
D选项“经济复苏的迹象”,不符合第三段首句的内容“失业率(unemployment)确实很高”,属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
5. Scandinavian Airlines decided to _____. 斯堪的纳维亚航空公司决定_____。
A. create job vacancies for the unemployed A. 为失业者创造职位空缺
B. prepare their laid-off workers for other jobs B. 让他们的下岗工人做好其他工作的准备
C. retrain their cabin staff for better services C. 重新培训他们的客舱工作人员以获得更好的服务
D. finance their staff’s college education D. 为员工的大学教育提供资金
【答案】B
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文第四段第三句“瑞典的情况似乎就是如此:当被迫让90%的空乘人员休假时,斯堪的纳维亚航空公司决定启动一个短期再培训项目,重新培训被解雇的员工(reskilled the laid-off workers),以支持医院员工(support hospital staff)”,由此可知,斯堪的纳维亚航空公司决定重新培训被解雇的员工,让他们支持医院的工作,选项B符合。
【干扰项排除】
A、C、D选项原文没有提及,属于无中生有。