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Changes in the modern workplace, brought about by technology and management innovations and by increased global competition, raise concerns about the adequacy of workforce skills. In the United States and elsewhere, these concerns have led to new ideas about skills, in particular the need for 'new basic skills' like problem solving, teamwork, and communications. Many employers and policy makers in the US believe that these skills are necessary for work across most jobs, and they support school reforms to teach those skills. This paper presents empirical evidence from a study of skill requirements in technical work which challenges conventional wisdom about new skills.