semi-skilled

Meanings

1. 1adjectivenot comparable

   Needing or having some training or experience, but less than a fully skilled job or worker.

   Grammar: Usually used before a noun: a semi-skilled job. It is not normally graded with more or most.

   Patterns

   • semi-skilled worker
   • semi-skilled job
   • semi-skilled labor

   The factory employs semi-skilled workers who have learned their tasks on the job.

   Many semi-skilled jobs in the area pay above the minimum wage.

   After a short training course, he moved from an unskilled role to a semi-skilled one.

2. 2adjectivenot comparable

   Describing a person who has some training for practical work but is not a fully qualified specialist.

   Grammar: Can describe a person directly: she is semi-skilled. It still suggests a middle level, not a beginner and not an expert.

   Patterns

   • be semi-skilled
   • semi-skilled staff
   • a semi-skilled operator

   The team is mostly semi-skilled, so a supervisor checks the more difficult work.

   She was hired as a semi-skilled technician and later trained as a specialist.

Common combinations

semi-skilled worker

Semi-skilled workers often learn their tasks through short in-house courses.

semi-skilled labor

The report divides the workforce into skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled labor.

semi-skilled job

Warehouse picking is a typical semi-skilled job.

semi-skilled and unskilled

Both semi-skilled and unskilled positions were affected by the closure.

train semi-skilled staff

The company trains semi-skilled staff to operate the new machines.

Synonyms and how they differ

skilled

Skilled means fully trained and often qualified; semi-skilled means the training is only partial.

unskilled

Unskilled means no special training is needed, so it is lower than semi-skilled on the jobs scale.

Opposites

Word family

skill noun

The ability to do something well, usually gained through training or practice.

skilled adjective

Having full training or ability for a job.

unskilled adjective

Not needing special training; below semi-skilled.

Commonly confused: semi-skilled or unskilled?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “semi-skilled”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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