Expertise vs. 'Training'

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Been bemoaning the erosion of expertise and specialist knowledge in the workplace: replaced generally by 'on the job training' and CBT - an acronym which can be read in many ways, but we'll gloss over that - generalism, jack of all etc. now being thought of as the way forward. Whilst there is always room for the adaptable and versatile, we still need specialists with specific skill and knowledge sets.

The case in point being a reminder of the Post Office scandal [blog posts passim], in the form of a review of a new book on the subject I read this week. Truth is, in the days of the General Post Office, all systems would have been specced in house by experts of long-standing and only contracted out to external companies under strict supervision by those experts. By contrast, watching the World Snooker Championships, I'm grateful that the commentary thereon is given by people who know what they're actually talking about...


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