Blue-collar refers to a certain kind of occupation that often involves labor as the workers get paid on an hourly basis. The term stems from the early twentieth century when such employees wore deeper, more durable materials like blue denim or identical blue uniforms.
They favored these garments since they got them filthy at duties and couldn't manage to clean them regularly due to their poor pay. Construction, industrial production, servicing, and mining are some of the fields that belong to this group. Members of the working class are those who hold this type of employment.
On the contrary, white-collar employees, who had professional roles and did non-manual tasks in a workplace inevitably dressed neat, ironed white shirts that they can always afford to wash frequently—in comparison to blue-collar laborers.
Despite the fact that this type of employment still requires maintaining or building something, technological improvements have led to an increase in the number of these employees in sectors. Some of these professions demand highly competent employees.
A number of them have advanced training with licensing and/or certification from reputable training schemes or technical schools. However, the phrase "blue-collar" stuck and now it is typical to discover people in similar positions who are talented, officially schooled and well-paid.
For example, locomotive engineers, boilermakers, construction inspectors, gas plant operators, elevator installers and repairers are among the highest-paying blue-collar jobs of the 21st century.
Use of the Term in Sentences
- Because of the large workload, the new building site requires some qualified blue-collar workers.