‘’Human want’s and human needs are infinite, and so there will always be new industries, there will always be new professions’’ – Milton Friedman

This is an ambiguous title, because this is an ambiguous question that is growing in relevance. What IS clear is that our world is changing. Economic and technical changes are restructuring the working environment with new sectors growing and some becoming more obsolete. Work is increasingly being carried out on online platforms and across time zones, robotics, AI and digitalization raise many questions and machines are replacing the human taskforce and the technological process continues, new skills are being called for. The speed of changes means we are constantly having to adapt and the needs for digital skills are crucial in functioning in the new environment.

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, last year stated ‘’if we do not change the way we teach, thirty years from now we will be in trouble’’ and he is probably right. So how do countries adapt before its too late?

A study undertaken in 2017 took a deeper look at countries in the EU and the ‘’digital front-runners’’ (McKinsey, p.2, 2017) to see how they have jumped in and taken the new trends onboard leading the way forward. Maybe they can provide some insight into best practice and how to adapt to the technological trends.

So, who are these technical wizards? They are Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The first thing to note here is that these are countries that would generally rank as having high levels of media literacy as a result of higher standards of education, free media and better levels of trust among citizens. These factors and the corroboration between media literacy was highlighted in a previous article and might be good to read before we move on!

So, in moving forward we recognise that its notable to see that countries embracing the technical revolution are those that are more developed, democratic and forward-thinking countries.

They are seeing the changes taking place in society and are preparing society to be able to adapt and provide the necessary skills for the future. We say future, but already we are seeing the changes. British economist John Maynard Keynes introduced the impending situation as ‘’technological unemployment’’ describing when innovation and technology impacting the labour market and effect it would have on desired skills for the workforce all the way back in 1930. Now, the Mercedes factories in Germany have robots creating its cars and in Japan, a sushi chain has replaced servers and chefs with robots. Why? Mainly because it speeds up productivity and therefore is more desirable. So, the growing fear is that this will lead to mass loss of jobs but there has been little evidence of this so far. What is clear is that the job market is changing, and many people now do not have the required skills to find new occupations leading to the need to retrain and continuously learn.

So, what exactly are these super countries doing to make it? There are two main areas to look at: Automation and new skill structure and how to face them.

• Automation

Automation is not a new phenomenon. We have seen three industrial revolutions so far with many calling the period we are in now the fourth. 14% of jobs are automatable in the OECD, which is 66 million jobs (European Political Strategy Centre, the Future of Work and Workplaces, 2018). Despite this and the belief that the technological changes cause destruction, the labour market has shown that it can balance. But what is clear is that high skilled jobs requiring more education are taking up 40% of the market in comparison to 28% in 1998 with Ireland seeing the largest increase (McKinsey, p20). In looking at the negative side, one study claimed that for every robot, eight jobs are lost (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2017) but in looking at the positive side, technology creates new jobs and new sectors of productivity. How many people now work in digital marketing, data, or programming? A lot. And there is a huge demand for more. Hence, in many cases of our front-runners, the jobs opportunities created out-weighed the jobs lost as well as improving productivity. Taking the reins of automation and embracing the chances allow for a smoother transition, it is important to put measures in place to minimize negative impacts.

• A New Skill Structure for the Future

Naturally enough, skills are linked to occupations and these skills are also being updated thanks to automation. As we see the job market changing, so to are the skills required. Technical skills like coding, statistics, big data and the internet of things are just some areas that will see growth and the demand for physical skills will continue to decline.  A successful transition is critical, but it must be noted that many will lack the necessary IT skills to easily move to a new digital area.

So how to tackle the problems?

1. Focus on digital infrastructure enabling new tech to evolve
2. Encourage and invest in R&D
3. Educate and train people now for the future focusing on STEM and focus on life long learning skills and implementing it in the school system from a young age
4. Develop models and policy for transitioning workers to new occupations
5. Don’t just focus on national policy, get involved on a global scale helping to shape the future

While we may have front runners as is the usual way of life, it’s important that all members take note and see the trends. The European Commission recognises the importance for ensuring the stability and future of Europe and technology offers the change to create an open, shared environment of productivity and development.

Can the front runners help the rest of Europe and share the benefits or is it every man for themselves?

 

Sources:

McKinsey, 2017, ‘’Shaping the Future of Work in Europe’s Digital Frontrunner’’. Found at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/europe/shaping%20the%20future%20of%20work%20in%20europes%20nine%20digital%20front%20runner%20countries/shaping-the-future-of-work-in-europes-digital-front-runners.ashx