Work has changed around the world

Manpower has been a successful employment agency for about 60 years. It has supplied temporary employees to companies since 1948. That’s when the first office opened in Milwaukee, in the USA. Two lawyers started the company when they were unable to find temporary help with a project. Today, it is a global company with offices all around the world. Employment agencies supply companies with different types of workers. These include professional and administrative workers in offices, and manual workers in factories and in

building sites. Temporary workers (also called ‘temps’) now make up between one and three per cent of the total workforce in most countries. Multinational companies have employed temps for a long time. Now smaller companies also use temporary workers. Have careers changes very much since the 1990s? A decade ago, people expected to work for the same company until they retired. Today, nobody expects a job for life any more. People move from job to job, working in different companies or in different departments.

Training is important because it improves workers’ skills. This can help employees to find better jobs or get a promotion. In some jobs there aren’t enough skilled workers. Some companies want retired people with skills to return to work. Japan, Australia and Italy have started to employ older workers. Companies need organizations like Manpower to arrange training for older employees, for example to use computers or to work with a younger boss.   THE ECONOMIST

5 Read the article again and answer the questions:

1 When did Manpower start?

2 What do employment agencies do?

3 What is another word for ‘temporary workers’?

4 What did people expect in their career ten years ago?

5 What can help a worker who wants to improve their career opportunities?

6 What have Japan, Australia and Italy started to do?

6 Read these job adverts.

1 What type of company is it? 2 Find two words that mean the same as job. 3 Which job needs a particular skill? Web editor We are looking for an imaginative but focusedweb editor to join our team. You are a practical person who can deal with problems on your own.

We are currently offering positions for the right people:     Summer placement Are you an energetic student with ambition? Get some work experience this summer. Every June-August we employ a friendly young person to help in our offices. Learn new skills and earn some money.     Website production assistant This post needs a careful and patient person with basic skills in HTML. You assist experienced web producers and receive training.

7 Match the adjectives in bold to definitions 1-8.

1 think about things and does not make mistakes _______________

2 can deal with everyday problems ______________

3 has new and exciting ideas _______________

4 very active and lots of energy _________________

5 can work on one job for a long time ________________

6 kind and helpful ________________

7 has lots of skills and knowledge in the job ______________

8 can wait for a long time ________________

8 Listen to Anton and Sandra in the HR Department of the company. They are discussing candidates for the jobs. Make notes about Monica and Roberto in the table.

	Monica	Roberto
Personal qualities	friendly
Current situation
Skills and experience
Qualifications

9 Listen again and match 1-5 to a-e.

1 She has a lot ___________	a) ….. good at working on his own.
2 She’s good __________	b) …... of experience in book editing.
3 He has a __________	c) ….. any experience in editing.
4 He doesn’t have ___________	d) …… qualification in IT.
5 He isn’t very _________	e) ……. at editing websites.

10 Listen to the conversation again, check your answers and act out the conversation.

Anton:	OK. So we have a student for the summer job. Let’s discuss the web editor position next. Who do we have?
Sandra:	There were lots of emails for this one, but there are only two people really. First of all, there’s Monica. I spoke to her on the phone and she’s very friendly. At the moment she works in publishing.
Anton:	Is she an editor?
Sandra:	Yes. She has a lot of experience in book editing, but she says she’s good at editing websites because she does some in her free time for friends and small businesses.
Anton:	OK. That sounds like a possibility. What about the other person?
Sandra:	Here’s his picture. Do you recognize him?
Anton:	Yes, who is he?
Sandra:	It’s Roberto. He was the student on our summer placement last year.
Anton:	That’s right. Roberto! I remember him. Very energetic! Really nice young man.
Sandra:	Exactly. Anyway, now he has a qualification in IT.
Anton:	But why is he applying for the web editor job? He doesn’t have any experience in editing and he isn’t very good at working on his own.
Sandra:	I know, but he liked it here so much last summer he wants a job. I think he’s perfect for the position of web production assistant.
Anton:	Exactly. Let’s offer him that and then invite Monica for an interview. I’d like to see the websites she worked on as well.
Sandra:	Sure. I’ll send you the links.