Overview: The future of work is in our hands

The OECD estimates that 14% of jobs are at high risk of automation – significantly fewer than some researchers have argued. […]the fact that a job could potentially be automated does not mean that this will actually happen: automation may not always be cost-effective or desirable, it may raise legal and ethical concerns, and it will be affected by people’s preferences and policy decisions. Skills acquired through experience should be recognised, and better financial incentives should be designed to reduce the cost of training borne by the most vulnerable groups. […]it is critical to improve the quality of programmes and their alignment with current and future labour market needs, and to evaluate their effectiveness on a regular basis. […]if they lose their job, many non-standard workers have limited access to vocational training, counselling and other employment-oriented programmes for the unemployed. In practice, however, these workers may not acquire rights to training, which often accrue with job tenure and depend on the numbers of hours worked. […]self-employed workers are still very rarely covered by training rights legislation.