qualificationqual·i·fi·ca·tion /ˌkwɒləfəˈkeɪʃənˌkwɑː-/ noun1[countableC usually plural] an examination that you have passed at school, university, or in your professionThe government is determined to reduce the number of young people leaving school with no qualifications.
Even without paper qualifications (=official qualifications rather than experience or personal qualities), a well-motivated young girl should be able to find work as a shop assistant or a waitress.
2[countableC] a skill, personal quality, or type of experience that makes you suitable for a particular jobMr. Burkett has all the qualifications for a big-time fund-raiser: a limitless capacity for talking on the phone, and a lot of rich personal contacts.
Isobel has all the right qualifications to become a good manager.
If you are
qualified, you have suitable knowledge, experience, or qualifications to do a particular job
All our staff are highly qualified.
Some professions, for example accountancy, require their members to have a
professional qualification, such as an
ACA (
Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants) from a
professional organization (=official organization that represents a particular profession). Other jobs require an
academic qualification, such as a
bachelor’s degree (=BA, BS, or BSc) or a
master’s degree (=MA, MSc, or MS). Jobs, such as carpentry or plumbing, require
vocational qualifications which are awarded by an organization such as the
City and Guilds in the UK.
Someone who is
skilled has the training and experience that is needed to do something well
Skilled craftsmen, such as carpenters, are in great demand.
A
skilled worker does work that involves special skills that they have gained through
trainingThe shortage of skilled workers is having a significant effect on the industry.
A
semi-skilled worker is not in a highly skilled or professional job, but needs some special skills to do their job
The research found a steady decline in the ratio of semi-skilled workers in industries that employ a large number of foreign workers.
An
unskilled worker does work that does not involve any special skill or training
The government is planning to put in place safeguards to prevent exploitation of unskilled workers.