References
This database has been compiled to provide a searchable repository on published research addressing “future skills” that will be a useful tool for researchers and individuals interested in the future of work and the future of skills.
The database integrates existing bibliographies focused on future skills and the future of work as well as the results of new ProQuest and Google Scholar searches. The process of building the database also involved consultations with experts and the identification of key research organizations publishing in this area, as well as searches of those organizations’ websites. For a more detailed explanation of how the database was assembled, please read the Future Skills Reference Database Technical Note.
The current database, assembled by future skills researchers at the Diversity Institute, is not exhaustive but represents a first step in building a more comprehensive database. It will be regularly updated and expanded as new material is published and identified. In that vein, we encourage those with suggestions for improvements to this database to connect with us directly at di.fsc@ryerson.ca.
From this database, we also selected 39 key publications and created an Annotated Bibliography. It is designed to serve as a useful tool for researchers, especially Canadian researchers, who may need some initial guidance in terms of the key references in this area.
Search the database
Reference
Job polarization in advanced and emerging countries: The role of task relocation and technological change within global supply chains
This paper documents that job polarization – the simultaneous expansion of high and low-wage occupations at the expense of middle-wage occupations – is pervasive in the non-agricultural workforce of advanced and emerging countries over the period from 1999 to 2007. To investigate what is driving these labour market developments, we develop a task-based model of production in global supply chains and propose a decomposition of changes in occupational labour demand within these chains. Using a new harmonized cross-country occupations database combined with world input-output tables, we find technological change drives job polarization in almost all countries. Cross-border task relocation contributes towards polarizing labour markets in advanced countries, while the opposite pattern is observed in offshore destination countries.
Reference
The future at work—Trends and implications
Trends in workforce size and composition and in the pace of technological change and economic globalization will have implications for the future of work. Employees will work in more decentralized, specialized firms; slower labor growth will encourage employers to recruit groups with relatively low labor force participation; greater emphasis will be placed on retraining and lifelong learning; and future productivity growth will support higher wages and may affect the wage distribution. Given this, some policies may need to be re-examined.
Reference
Ensuring technological growth works for all
Technology is bringing structural changes to our economies that may leave many citizens behind. We must make people’s well-being a policy priority.
Reference
The future of jobs and jobs training
As robots, automation and artificial intelligence perform more tasks and there is massive disruption of jobs, experts say a wider array of education and skills-building programs will be created to meet new demands. There are two uncertainties: Will well-prepared workers be able to keep up in the race with AI tools? And will market capitalism survive?
Reference
Final Report - Back to work: Re-employment, earnings and skill use after job displacement
This report provides new and more extensive evidence of job displacement and its consequences for 14 countries. Job displacement, i.e. involuntary job loss due to economic factors such as economic downturns or structural change, is highly cyclical but has not exhibited any upwards trend over the past decade. Differences in available data sources and definitions make cross-country comparisons difficult, but it appears that displacement affects around 2-7% of employees every year in the countries for which data are available.
Reference
Barriers to work-integrated learning opportunities
The purpose of the current study was to determine what strategies Ontario's postsecondary institutions are implementing to mitigate or remove those barriers. The study employed an online survey of faculty and staff at postsecondary institutions who are involved in making WIL opportunities available to students. A total of 1,008 potential respondents were identified through a search of 44 Ontario postsecondary institutions' websites. An email invitation was sent from HEQCO to all 1,008. Respondents were not randomly selected. Participation was voluntary. A total of 176 respondents completed the survey, which was available from May 29 until June 16, 2017. The final data set includes surveys from 43 of the 44 institutions surveyed (i.e., all but one publicly funded Ontario postsecondary institution). In-depth telephone interviews were then conducted with 45 key informants. The purpose of these interviews was to further clarify the efficacy of the identified strategies and discuss the challenges of implementing them for specific types of WIL.
Reference
Working and learning: A diversity of patterns
The combination of work and study has been hailed as crucial to ensure that youth develop the skills required on the labour market so that transitions from school to work are shorter and smoother. This paper fills an important gap in availability of internationally comparable data. Using the 2012 Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), it draws a comprehensive picture of work and study in 23 countries/regions. Crucially, it decomposes the total share of working students by the context in which they work (VET, apprenticeships or private arrangements) and assesses the link between field of study and students’ work. The paper also assesses how the skills of students are used in the workplace compared to other workers and identifies the socio-demographic factors and the labour market institutions that increase the likelihood of work and study. Finally, while it is not possible to examine the relationship between work and study and future labour market outcomes at the individual level, some aggregate correlations are unveiled.
Reference
The effects of non-standard forms of employment on worker health and safety
The past 40 years have witnessed significant changes to work arrangements globally. Overall, the changes have been characterised by less contract duration and job security, more irregular working hours (both in terms of duration and consistency), increased use of third parties (temporary employment agencies), growth of various forms of dependent self-employment (like subcontracting and franchising) and also bogus/informal work arrangements (i.e. arrangements deliberately outside the regulatory framework of labour, social protection and other laws).
Reference
Rebalancing the economy sectorally and spatially: An evidence review: Volume 2 - International case studies
The study’s emphases were on providing conceptual, empirical, and policy perspectives on the ‘rebalancing’ issue, and offering guidance on what might assist in ‘rebalancing’ the UK economy, particularly from a skills and employment policy perspective. More specifically, the research questions were as follows: • What is the nature and scale of the ‘rebalancing’ challenge in the UK, and its causes? • What has been the rationale for government intervention in the sectoral and spatial structure of the economy, both at home and abroad? • What types of interventions have been employed by governments to influence the sectoral and geographical structure of the economy, particularly in terms of skills and employment interventions? • What works and why? What have been the relevance, effectiveness and impacts of previous policy initiatives in ‘rebalancing’ the economy sectorally and spatially? • What might be done in the UK to create a more (re)balanced economy, help create the new economic circumstances, sectors, products and services on which a successful, sustainable and competitive economy can be built? And what are the implications for, and on, skills policy in supporting this process?