HOW SKILLED WERE LANCASHIRE COTTON FACTORY-WORKERS IN 1833

This article uses data collected by the Commissioners of Factories to demonstrate how, in 1833, sums invested by British male cotton factory workers in on-the-job training, returns to that investment, and avera ge levels of skill acquired were surprisingly high by modern standards . Data on female earnings indicate the discriminatory effect of social and other factors on women's opportunities to benefit from on-the-job training in cotton factories. Generalized to include experience in ot her factory based industries, the results make it hard to maintain the view that in 1833, British factories operated with a largely unskille d labour force.