White Paper

Several developed economies are seeing increasing numbers of job vacancies, but their unemployment rates are not going down. In some cases, they are even rising. What is happening is that many of the workers who lost their jobs to the crisis do not have the skills that the labour market now demands.

The establishment of the Global Commission on the Future of Work in August 2017 marked the start of the second phase of ILO’s Future of Work Centenary initiative. The six thematic clusters provide a basis for further deliberations of the Global Commission. They focus on the main issues that need to be considered if the future of work is to be one that provides security, equality and prosperity. A series of Issue Briefs are prepared under each of the proposed clusters. These are intended to stimulate discussion on a select number of issues under the different themes. The thematic clusters are not necessarily related to the structure of the final report.

Increased digitalization and automation are expected to significantly affect both the quality and quantity of jobs. New types of jobs and employment are changing the nature and conditions of work by altering skills requirements and replacing traditional patterns of work and sources of income. They open opportunities, especially for developing countries, to enter new, fast-growing sectors and catch up with more advanced economies. At the same time, new technologies are affecting the functioning of labour markets and challenging the effectiveness of existing labour market institutions, with far-reaching consequences for the number of jobs, their quality and the diversity of opportunities they offer. This Issue Brief discusses the potential of technological change for job creation and destruction and its implications for inequality and job polarization. It also highlights the opportunities for economic development and labour market efficiency and inclusion.

Microfinance can be an important support for the transition to formality both through providing incentives to move out of informality and through their position within supervisory frameworks. They have the advantage of being flexible and accessible to the poor while also being regulated. Importantly, MFIs can support informal operators’ access to other markets and income generating opportunities and are therefore attractive partners for informal economy operators that wish to grow. MFIs also often offer the advantage of not requiring formal property as collateral for loans and rely less on written documentation than formal financial institutions. Similarly, the underlying poverty alleviation orientation of MFIs enables them to meet both equity and efficiency objectives including job creation, reducing vulnerability and facilitating empowerment through group organization.

Looks at why national skills policies matter, what can be achieved by developing a national skills policy, key policy principles and how these can be incorporated in national skills policies as well as the process for policy development and effective implementation of skills policies. Intended to encourage particular action on the part of the constituents, the brief draws on Human Resources Development Recommendation (No. 195) and tripartite agreements adopted at the International Labour Conference in 2008 on "Skills for improved productivity, employment growth and development". It also provides examples of successful experiences of national skills development strategies in some countries.

This paper provides the IFR’s opinion on the impact of automation - specifically of robots - on productivity, competitiveness and employment. IFR is not a policy institute. However, this report includes the main conclusions from a variety of experts on appropriate policy responses to ensure ongoing positive outcomes from automation and the ongoing development and uptake of robots, with which we concur.

This report explores emerging technologies shaping the future of the human experience over the next decade, and the specific impacts and implications they will have on society and work.

The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the automotive retail industry. This sector is vital to the smooth running of the UK economy as it is concerned with the sale, rental/leasing, maintenance and repair of the 29.1 million vehicles on the roads in England (83% of the 35.21 million in the UK), and their associated parts. The businesses within the sector are diverse and include; vehicle dealerships, independent garages, car supermarkets, rental and leasing outfits, fast fit chains, roadside assistance operations, accident repair centres and wholesale and retail parts suppliers. This paper describes the current and future skill priorities for the sector. It draws on research undertaken by the IMI and a range of secondary sources.

There is no universally agreed upon determination of which technologies are considered emerging. For the purpose of this study, IFTF explored the impact that Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), and Cloud Computing, will have on society by 2030. These technologies, enabled by significant advances in software, will underpin the formation of new human-machine partnerships.