White Paper

Representing the views of 10,000 adults in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., and including interviews with chief human resources officers at 10 large corporations based in these three countries, this study from Northeastern University and Gallup measures perceptions of the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs, as well as the education choices respondents would make in response and their confidence in higher education, government and business to plan for widespread AI adoption. Key findings: In all three countries, few see higher education as doing a good job preparing current or future workers for the workforce. Most of the adults in these countries would not look to higher education as the first source for new skills and training to respond to AI adoption. Nearly all, in all three countries surveyed, see the value of lifelong learning. Many in all three countries question the value of a degree from a traditional college or university.

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector comprises workers involved in information technology (IT), communications technology and digital media. The ICT sector provides services to Australian households, businesses and organisations to allow them to be more informed, more productive and more connected. Nationally recognised training products for this sector are housed within the ICT Training Package, which provides the competency standards for learners working, or seeking work, in the sector. PwC's Skills for Australia and the ICT Industry Reference Committees (IRC) have undertaken, and continue to undertake, projects to address new and emerging skills needs in the ICT sector.

This submission will present evidence from several different strands of research undertaken by our Centre over the past three years, all of which touch in different ways on the challenges and opportunities associated with on-demand or “gig” work. We cast doubt on the common assumption that this way of organising work is essentially novel or innovative, and is being facilitated primarily by advances in digital technology; to the contrary, we point to long historical antecedents for the contingent employment practices which underpin the business models of most digital platform companies. We argue that while the current extent of ondemand work is relatively small in the context of Australia’s overall labour market, if unchecked (through appropriate regulations and safeguards) these practices could spread into other industries and occupations – including public services. The current application of Australian labour laws has, to date, allowed most digital platform firms to avoid the normal obligations and costs associated with employing workers. This has provided businesses which rely on gig labour with an unjustified competitive advantage relative to their competitors who utilise conventional employment practices; it thus puts downward pressure on compensation and working conditions for workers in all firms (both new digital businesses and more conventional firms). Another source of concern regarding on-demand work is the extent to which these businesses (and others) are misusing digital surveillance and evaluation technologies to monitor, discipline and even discharge workers. These practices raise serious concerns regarding dignity, privacy and fair process for workers. Our submission concludes by highlighting several policy options to better regulate the practices and conditions of ondemand work, and improve the well-being of those working in these positions. Some policy responses to the rise of on-demand work lie beyond the scope of state-level legislative and regulatory capacities; we discuss them anyway, in order to fully describe the challenges involved in regulating on-demand work and gigs. But we also include several policy recommendations that fall well within the traditional realm of state-based policy-making.

Governments, trade unions, employers’ associations and international organizations are calling for the improvement of apprenticeship systems at the global, regional and national levels. Quality apprenticeships are cost-effective, and has the potential to lower youth unemployment rates, enhance the competitiveness of enterprises and prepare skilled workers for rapidly-changing world of work. However, many countries face challenges in scaling up and sustaining quality apprenticeships programmes and increasingly seek advice from the ILO. This policy brief presents an overview of quality apprenticeships promoted by the ILO through outlining their key characteristics, benefits and challenges, as well as examining the building blocks and policy pointers for developing a successful quality apprenticeship system.

The debate around technology and the future of work grows louder by the day. Rightly so; we’re confronted regularly with news of apparent breakthroughs in radical technologies, seemingly capable of disrupting whole industries, perhaps our very conception of work itself. With livelihoods at stake, it is natural that the public conversation is growing in urgency, along with the expectation for positive action to safeguard a future of good work. This is the need the RSA Future Work Centre was founded to address. Now eight months into our programme, this report marks our attempt to look into the future, highlight critical challenges that may face workers, and offer policy and practice interventions as potential remedies. In doing so we have entered a crowded field. Consultancies, think tanks, government departments, media pundits – a wide range of stakeholders have offered their view on how the world of work will shape up in the coming years. But such opinions are largely expressed as predictions: one commentator says 10 percent of jobs are at risk of automation. Another says 5 percent. Yet another claims the true figure is closer to 35 percent. We find these numerical forecasts to be flawed. They are reductive, prone to bias and often based on mistaken assumptions. Above all, they are futile in the face of the vast complexity and unpredictability of major forces in the world, including the development and adoption of new technologies; trends that are impossible to predict with certainty. In this report we suggest an alternative futures method in the form of scenario planning. Rather than offering a singular prediction for the future of work, this method yields several distinct and divergent visions of what may come to pass. Following this exercise led us to generate four scenarios for the UK labour market in 2035: the Big Tech Economy, the Precision Economy, the Exodus Economy, and the Empathy Economy. While they are not exhaustive portrayals of the future, they capture a wide range of plausible outcomes and present them in a way that is vivid and easy to grasp. Ultimately, we hope these scenarios are a practical tool to help those in positions of responsibility adequately prepare today’s workforce for tomorrow’s workplace, whether that is civil servants in the Treasury advising on changes to tax policy, or FE college leaders questioning how their curricula should evolve to meet new skill demands.

The purpose of this inquiry is to provide an independent assessment of the scale and potential impacts of rapid technological change and its disruptive impact on the future of work and the workforce in New Zealand. The overriding aim is to harness changes to maximise the wellbeing of New Zealanders. The assessment should provide material for future government policy development and other initiatives to prepare the country for a productive, sustainable, and socially-inclusive future, despite uncertainties around the impact of technology. For this inquiry, 'disruption' is primarily about the impacts of technological change. The inquiry should acknowledge the potential for disruption to have both positive and negative impacts. Two broad questions should guide the inquiry: — What are the current and likely future impacts of technological change and disruption on the future of work, the workforce, labour markets, productivity and wellbeing? How can the Government better position New Zealand and New Zealanders to take advantage of innovation and technological change in terms of productivity, labour-market participation and the nature of work?

The Skills for Future Jobs 2020 Series will draw upon the Commission’s independent economic modelling to qualification demand assessment to explore the critical issues impacting on the South Australian VET sector and provide a platform for industry to address the skills and workforce development needs of the South Australian economy.

This booklet outlines the main features of online job vacancies and the key characteristics of Cedefop’s new system to collect and analyse them. It accompanies the first release of results based on the collection and analysis of online job vacancies in seven EU Member States. Over recent decades, online job portals have become important recruitment and job search tools. Beyond assisting skills matching, the job vacancies these portals gather can also be used to analyse labour market trends in real time, generating evidence that can inform education and training policies and help ensure that people’s skills meet the needs of rapidly changing workplaces. These insights can complement skills intelligence based on information collected via traditional methods, such as Cedefop’s Europe-wide skills forecasts, the European skills and jobs survey, and the European skills index.

Several economic factors influence the availability of job openings and labor supply, including technological change and access to quality educational resources. One of the most important factors explaining the current disparity between available jobs and labor supply, however, has been the "skills gap," or the difference between the skills needed for occupations and the skills workers hold. To address the skills gap, economists and policymakers have proposed improving access to--and delivery of--job training and education. While workforce skills training is structured and delivered in different formats, it typically results in some type of credential to demonstrate completion and competency. Labor market data demonstrate that nondegree credentials--that is, certificates, licenses, or industry certifications other than an associate or bachelor's degree--add value to workers who hold them, providing them with greater earnings than those who do not possess such credentials. In some industries, the earnings premium for holding a credential is as high as the earnings premium for holding a college degree. These training programs are particularly useful because participating students are not tied to enrolling in credit-bearing programs, which usually have longer time requirements and course sequences and delay transition to the workforce. The longer time needed to complete a credit-bearing training program is particularly difficult for unemployed or low-wage workers who need enhanced earnings as quickly as possible. Nondegree credentials may be obtained through both postsecondary credit-bearing and noncredit education and training programs at a number of institutions. Given the increasing need to more effectively and quickly upskill workers for unfilled occupations, an emerging option is expanding noncredit skills training at community colleges. Community colleges are already at the forefront of noncredit skills training. The expansion of noncredit skills training at community colleges, and the factors influencing its efficacy and use, provides an important framework for policymakers to consider, especially in light of ongoing questions regarding college affordability and the return on investment of various postsecondary education alternatives.