Skilled = Sguild = Skilled

Skilled = Sguild = Skilled.

What does that mean?

You've seen the new name of this blog, "Sguild Labor". You've read my discussion with respect to my passion for development of shop floor resources in leadership (this includes communication), and analytical thinking as a means of driving competitiveness of American labor.

I am a professional that believes in the development of systems and processes that drive results. There are many processes for the development of shop floor resources. These ship floor resources are also often referred to as labor, hourly or non-exempt (from overtime) personnel.

In the early days of our country, colleges and universities did not provide education for the shop floor. There were no community colleges, nor were their trade schools. What did exist was the guild system. It was through the guild system that trades were learned and passed on. Printers, cart wrights, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, silversmiths; I could go on, but you get the idea. In the guild system, if you made horse shoes for your horses, but you were not a blacksmith, you were considered a novice. If you wanted to learn the trade, you started as an apprentice to someone who knew the trade and was an established artisan in the trade. Eventually, as your skill developed you would become a practicing journeyman. In the guild system, once you were established as an artisan, having patrons of note, you were identified as a master craftsman.

The guild system is, for the most part, now gone. However, as a model for developing leadership and analytical thinking on the shop floor, there is clear relevance. There are novices working to build their skills, there are apprentices focused on the development of their skills. There are journeymen that have developed their skills and are working to make a contribution. Finally, their are master craftsmen who are leading process improvements on the shop floor.

The guild system also had some informal aspects. First there was a mentoring process. This was typically the relationship between the apprentice and the craftsman to whom the apprentice was indentured. Although indentured servitude is a thing of the past, the mentoring relationship is not. Second, before an apprentice could become a journeyman, validation of the skills learned would have to take place. The apprentice would have to prove competence in their chosen craft.

It is my opinion the old artisan guild system has something of substance to offer in the development of shop floor resources to become skilled in leadership and analytical thinking. By leveraging the guild system a process can be established to facilitate that end. Thus...

Skilled = Sguild = Skilled.