PurposeUK government policy has emphasised the role of skills development and training as a means of improving productivity performance across all sectors of the economy. The purpose of this paper is to assess the appropriateness of this policy within the context of the construction industry, in light of the recently published statistics.Design/methodology/approachA trend analysis of construction productivity (measured by Gross Value Added/worker) and skills indicators (qualification attainment and training) was conducted over the period 1995‐2006.FindingsThere is inconsistency in the industry's productivity performance, despite the overall increase in qualification attainment levels and participation rates in training over the same period. However, the year‐on‐year change in the participation rate of training was not consistently associated with an improvement in productivity performance.Originality/valueIt is argued that the effective utilisation of skills rather than mere increase in the supply of skills is a key to bringing about productivity improvements. Indeed future policy makers decisions should focus on addressing other influences on productivity performance such as work organisation and management practice to support further development and progression of the UK construction industry.
This article provides a historical overview of the development of the U.S. Latina/o Muslim community. U.S. Latina/os have been converting to Islam since the 1920s. Early converts were primarily found in African‐American‐majority Islamic communities, though there were some others who entered Islam through ties to Muslim immigrants. In both cases, the U.S.'s racist social system had brought the two communities together. In New York City during the 1970s, however, a group of around a dozen Latina/o Muslims felt that neither the African‐American‐majority nor the immigrant‐majority communities sufficiently addressed Latina/os' particular culture, languages, social situations, and contributions to Islamic history. To correct this, they created the first known U.S. Latina/o Muslim organisation, the Alianza Islamica, a group which fostered a “Latino Muslim” identity. Since that time, due to the growing numbers of U.S. Latina/o Muslims, as well as a tendency to foster ties with Latina/o Muslims in countries outside of the U.S., U.S. Latina/o Muslims are more and more adopting the “Latino Muslim” identity, which is now being promoted by several organisations and prominent leaders.
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