Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

the work or jobs that you have done in your life so far: The salary will depend on your previous work experience and qualifications.

a period of time that a young person, especially a student, spends working in a company as a form of training: I did two weeks' work experience at a local radio station, о a work experience placement

-» internship at intern

workfare /'W3:kfea(r); AmE 'W3:rkfer/ noun [u] in the US, a system in which unemployed people have to do some work or training in order to get money for food, rent, etc. from the government: to sign up for a workfare program -» welfare to work

workforce (also spelled work force, especially in AmE) /'w3:kfo:s; AmE 'w3:rkfo:rs/ noun [C with sing./pl. verb]

all the people who work for a particular company, organization, etc: The factory will have to lose half of its 1 ООО-strong workforce, о Two-thirds of the workforce is/are women, о The group plans to cut over 100 jobs, about 1% of its total workforce, о Workforce planning is an ongoing process that influences all aspects of an organization. [synj staff О the entire/total/worldwide workforce

all the people in a country or an area who are available for work: A quarter of the local workforce is/are unemployed.

an educated/a skilled/trained workforce [syn] labour force

working /'w3:kir); AmE 'w3:rk-/ adjective, noun

adjective [only before noun] see also: hard-working

having a job for which you are paid: the working population о a programme of tax cuts for working families (= families where at least one person is employed) Isyni employed

connected with your job and the time you spend doing it: poor working conditions о long working hours о I have a good working relationship with my boss.

having a job that involves hard physical work rather than office work, studying, etc: My father was an ordinary working man.

a working breakfast or lunch is one at which you discuss business

used as a basis for work, discussion, etc. but likely to be changed or improved in the future: The investigator now has a working hypothesis of what caused the accident.

if you have a working knowledge of sth, you can use it at a basic level: A working knowledge of Spanish would be useful.

the working parts of a machine are the parts that move in order to make it function: a working model

-» idiom at order noun

noun [c] (usually workings [pi.])

see also: collaborative working, flexible working

the way in which a machine, a system, an organization, etc. works: the internal workings of the company

working capital (also circulating capital) noun [u; sing.]

[Accounting) the money, stocks of goods, etc. that are used to run a business, pay employees and produce and sell more good's: We may have to reduce our working capital in order to pay off some of the debts. net current assets

.working 'day noun [c] (BrЈ)

[also 'workday, AmE, BrE) a day on which you usually work or on which most people usually work: Sunday is a normal working day for me. о Thousands of working days were lost through strikes last year, о Allow two working days [= not Saturday or Sunday) for delivery.

[AmE 'workday) the part of a day during which you work: I spend most of my working day at my desk, о an 8-hour working day

'working group [BrEalso 'working .party)

noun [c]

a group of people given the task of studying a subject and producing a report on it: They set up a working group on alternative sources of energy, о The working party will report in the spring.

to establish/form/set up a working group ♦ to head/ lead a working group ♦ a working group approves sth/recommends sth/reports (on sth) ♦ a working group looks at sth/meets/studies sth