White Paper

If we are to close the digital gender divide, policymakers need to develop policies to foster women’s and girls’ full participation in the digital economy.

This presentation makes observations based on foresighting exercises that include recent ICT related foresighting for: Australian industries including ICT, Printing & Finance; NZ Health; Digital Futures Capability Project for SingTel Optus

The term 'green jobs' can refer to employment in a narrowly defined set of industries providing environmental services. But it is more useful for the policymaker to focus on the broader issue of the employment consequences of policies to correct environmental externalities such as anthropogenic climate change. Most of the literature focuses on direct employment created, with more cursory treatment of indirect and induced job creation, especially that arising from macroeconomic effects of policies. The potential adverse impacts of green growth policies on labor productivity and the costs of employment tend to be overlooked. More attention also needs to be paid in this literature to how labor markets work in different types of economy. There may be wedges between the shadow wage and the actual wage, particularly in developing countries with segmented labor markets and after adverse aggregate demand shocks, warranting a bigger and longer-lasting boost to green projects with high labor content. In these circumstances, the transition to green growth and job creation can go hand in hand. But there are challenges, especially for countries that have built their industrial development strategies around cheap carbon-based energy. Induced structural change, green or otherwise, should be accompanied by active labor market policies.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills are crucial to innovation and growth. Studies have shown that innovation-active enterprises employ higher proportions of graduates in general and, in particular, a higher proportion of STEM graduates than their non-innovative counterparts (CIHE, 2007 p. 17). The report provides estimates of the supply of (employment plus an estimate of those seeking work in STEM occupations) and demand for (employment plus vacancies for STEM posts) STEM graduates. The results are primarily based on the Labour Force Survey, but many other sources of information are utilised. The measures of supply and demand are brought together for the UK, at the national level for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and at the level of the nine planning regions for England. The study examines the estimated historical and projected market imbalances for STEM.

Technology will change the way people perform work and impact the operating model of organisations. Bhalla, Dyrcks and Strack (2017) states: “a tidal way of change is coming that will soon make the way we work almost unrecognizable to today’s business leaders. In an age of rapidly evolving technologies, business models, demographics, and even workplace attitudes – all shifting concurrently – change is not only constant but also exponential in its pace and scope.” These changes result from the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and its emphasis on technological innovation and digital productivity in organisations. Traditionally, all managerial and operational areas in organisations have been enabled and supported by knowledge management (KM) in the form of a codification or personalisation strategy. However, in the 4IR organisation it is acknowledged that “knowledge” will be in the form of “big data” which is received by sensors and transmitted to actuators and can be analysed in a cloud-based cyber-physical system. This requires re-conceptualisation on the relevance of knowledge management in supporting the functional areas of organisations as well as the manner in which knowledge management manifests. More importantly on the applicability and relevancy of knowledge management in an age where humans are seamlessly connected through ubiquitous technologies. What will the role of knowledge management be in organisations and societies where humans will become redundant because of the ability of machines to perform both repetitive but also highly complex work? It is evident that the manifestation of knowledge management will change radically in 4IR organisations. Change is imminent and knowledge management needs to evolve or subside into a cyber-physical realm. Hence, a literature review and three case studies reflect on the interrelationship between technology and knowledge management within the context of the 4IR organisation.

The UK Commission’s Employer Skills Survey 2011 is the key UK data source on employer demand for and investment in skills. This report focuses on the 2011 results from Northern Ireland’s employers on their skills challenges, recruitment and training activities and looks back at the earlier Northern Ireland Skills Monitoring Surveys (NISMS) allowing time-series comparisons from 2005 and 2008. The survey results form a rich source of information about the extent and nature of employer demand for skills; employer involvement in skills development activities and their approaches to workforce development; the experiences of skill deficiencies across different groups of employers. Results are presented by size, sector, occupation, and geography.

This report presents the findings of a review of theoretical evidence concerning employer investment in skills, which forms the basis of the Review of Employer Collective Measures study. This summary highlights the headline concepts, issues and conclusions regarding optimal training investment at the level of firm, sector, geography, nation and society and identifies how and where state intervention might be justified. Other reports in the series identify the extent to which the barriers to optimal investment are identified in research; the effectiveness of policy interventions to aid optimal investment and the outcomes of testing these ideas with stakeholders. The study is brought together in the final presentation of policy advice.

This report provides an assessment of the level of skills held by the UK population compared to other countries. Skills play a fundamental role in determining individual employability and earnings potential and they make a major contribution to productivity and business profitability, ultimately contributing to economic growth. The rapid changes taking place in the global environment mean that the goal of achieving world class skills has never been more critical to UK jobs and growth and the future skills mix of the UK adult population is therefore of key importance. The report builds on previous analyses of skill levels presented in the Ambition 2020 reports of 2009 and 2010 and Bosworth (2012). It assesses skills supply using possession of formal qualifications as the key measure, recognising that qualifications are only one, imperfect, measure of skills. Nonetheless, this analysis of the level of formal qualifications held by individuals provides a valuable insight into the UK’s skills performance. The reader should bear in mind that these projections indicate what would happen in the future if recent trends, which themselves are based on survey observations, continue. Many factors might influence these trajectories through to 2020 and beyond, so as with all projections, they should be treated with caution, as indicative of future trends rather than as precise forecasts of the future. This report provides an interim update of the results from the projections. A fuller analysis, including projections for the UK nations and English regions, will be published later in 2014.

Skills are a fundamental determinant of individual employability and earnings potential. Furthermore, productivity and business profitability are influenced by skills, ultimately affecting the UK’s economic performance. In a globalised world the goal of achieving world class skills has never been more critical to jobs and growth in the UK. Understanding how we stand in the global skills race and assessing our direction of travel in skills performance are essential to informing the actions we take now. Building on previous analyses of skill levels in the Ambition 2020 reports of 20091 and 20102, Bosworth (2012)3 and Bosworth (2014)4, this report assesses skills supply by analysing the attainment of formal qualifications, recognising that qualifications are only one, imperfect, measure of skills. Nonetheless, analysis of the level of formal qualifications held by the adult population provides valuable insight into the UK’s skills performance. This analysis uses past patterns of behaviour and performance to provide projections through to 2020. Since these projections indicate what would happen in the future if recent trends continue, the reader should treat them with caution, as indicative of future trends, rather than as precise forecasts of the future.