unskilled worker

…
［History］
Before the Industrial Revolution, self-employed craftsmen formed guilds to monopolize skills, maintained a hierarchy of master-craftsman-apprentice, limited the number of masters, and established regulations that only allowed masters to operate. The Industrial Revolution destroyed the foundation of self-employed craftsmen, and wage laborers employed by capitalists became the mainstream. However, a hierarchy was created between skilled workers who were proficient in the skills required for the newly formed large-scale mechanized industry, and unskilled workers who were assistants or engaged in simple tasks that did not require skill. Until around the end of the 19th century, small-lot production of a wide variety of products was common, so skilled workers were required to have multi-skilled skills, and skill development was mainly achieved by transferring skills from worker to worker through experience, so the apprenticeship system was reorganized and maintained in many countries. …

*Some terminology explanations that mention "unskilled worker" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…
［沿革］
　産業革命以前には，自営業者である職人がギルドを形成して技能を独占し，親方―職人―徒弟の身分序列を守るとともに，親方の人数を制限し，親方以外には営業を認めない規制を確立していた。産業革命によって自営業者としての職人の基盤は崩れ，資本家に雇用される賃金労働者が主流となったが，新たに形成された機械制大工業の中で要求される技能に習熟した熟練労働者と，その補助者あるいは熟練を要しない単純作業に従事する不熟練労働者unskilled workerの階層区分が生じた。19世紀末ごろまでは多品種少量生産が一般的であったため，熟練労働者には多能工的な技能が要求されており，熟練形成は主として労働者から労働者への経験による技能伝達によっていたので，多くの国で徒弟制度が再編･維持された。…

※「unskilled worker」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報