Abstract:
The article considers two related institutional domains, industrial relations andindustrial training, in the UK. It analyses the trajectory and magnitude of change, seenin terms of a) forms of coordination/governance and b) the saliency of these domains.The article covers a long time period, pivoting on the years of Conservativegovernment between 1979 and 1997. It argues that trajectories of change in these twodomains began earlier than these years and are still not fully unfolded in the industrialtraining area. Throughout, change involved combinations of both strategictransformation and muddling through by key actors. There are somecomplementarities between these two domains and with other domains, but there arealso significant disjunctures. In explaining change, some emphasis is placed onpolitics, but also on the ‘voluntaristic’ nature of labour market institutions in Britainand on employer preferences in labour, product and financial markets and in politicalcontexts.
Keywords:industrial relations, muddling through, training, transformation
