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Blue-collar Vs white-collar
Blue-collar Vs white-collar - what's the difference?
We’ve all heard the terms ‘blue-collar’ and ‘white-collar’ when searching for jobs or workers, but what do these terms actually mean? In general terms, the majority of white-collar work is done from the comfort of an office performing professional, managerial and administrative work. Coined in the early 1920s in the US, the term “blue-collar” refers to those who perform manual labour. At the time they usually wore denim workwear, hence the reference to blue and were usually paid an hourly or daily wage. There are also ‘pink-collar jobs’ too. The work of a pink-collar worker is related to customer interaction, entertainment, sales and other service focused work. In 2018, the choice of blue, white and pink as the colours assigned to these broad job types feels a little outdated. The colour of your shirt is irrelevant and denim is standard workwear across the workplace. Of course, many occupations involve a blend of blue, white and pink functions. But the distinction is useful and can help us to outline what the Grafter community can support. By exploring blue-collar jobs in more detail, in this post we illustrate how the Grafter network can help you.Blue-collar jobs - some examples
A significant amount of manual labour is at the heart of blue-collar work. Some of the most common industries that employ these individuals include construction, landscaping, warehousing and manufacturing. The leisure and events industries also employ blue-collar employees, from bar staff to erecting marquees. Most blue-collar workers are paid hourly or daily rates but some workers get paid ‘by the job’ or receive an annual salary if they work for a large company. Formal education or qualifications are not required for many posts in the blue-collar sector. However, many blue-collar jobs are highly specialised requiring skilled and experienced individuals. CSCS is a certification scheme, accredited by the CITB that provides an official and straightforward means of checking and proving construction related experience and training. The list is wide but here are just some examples of blue-collar jobs:- Brick Mason
- Carpenter
- Construction worker
- Delivery and Removal Driver
- Electrician
- Heavy Equipment Operator
- Gardening, Landscaping, and Groundskeeping
- Mechanic
- Painter Decorator
- Plumber
- Truck Driver
- Welder
Blue-collar job search
Due to the nature of their industries and the reasons grafters choose to go down the blue-collar route; paperwork such as CVs, job applications, adverts and job contracts are not documents that blue-collar workers focus their time on. Luckily, the Grafter network has been created to make finding jobs and workers for blue-collar roles quicker, easier and all online. The great news is that you’ll be able to look for roles similar to those listed above, as well as many others, via the Grafter network. To find out what industries our employers are looking for workers in, visit the grafter section of our website. And to look for workers for their projects, employers just need to look at the employer section.To find short-term and project jobs in your area, browse our latest jobs here. We've now got over 18,000 registered users - grafters and employers alike - within the Grafter community. As we grow we get better. We appreciate you spreading the word and as always appreciate your feedback.