Importance of Workforce Skills and Adaptability
In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, the need for adaptable workers has never been more crucial. UNI Global Union, a leading organisation representing workers across various sectors, is at the forefront of combating job displacement caused by technological advancements.
Historical examples of job and skill adaptation to new tools and processes provide context for the current digital change, and UNI Global Union is proactively addressing this issue. They emphasise several strategies to ensure the employability of workers facing job displacement, focusing on skills development, lifelong learning, and industrial policies tailored to evolving sectors.
Key strategies include the promotion of micro-credentials and lifelong learning. These short, targeted qualifications help workers continuously update their skills to meet labor market demands, supporting adaptability and employability in a rapidly digitalizing economy.
UNI Global Union also advocates for an industrial policy specifically designed for service sectors. Such policies aim to foster sustainable growth, quality employment, and social cohesion by ensuring services sectors remain viable and that workers in these sectors maintain job quality and career prospects despite technological changes.
Through events such as workshops and conferences, UNI actively involves trade unionists, policymakers, and experts in discussions on future industrial strategies and employability to align skills development with market needs.
UNI also promotes and advocates for workers' rights and interests at international and European levels, striving to influence policies that protect workers from negative impacts of technological change while promoting social justice and equitable employment opportunities.
The upcoming wave of job displacement due to digital change is significant and requires immediate proactive policy and strategy changes, as acknowledged by UNI Global Union. Philip Jennings, a notable figure in the organisation, stresses the importance of ensuring the employability of workers in this context.
The focus is on ensuring the employability of workers through up-skilling, reskilling, lifelong learning, and adaptations to current vocational and education training, as well as higher education institutions. Studies by the Centre for European Economic Research and Deloitte Consulting, which approach job displacement by looking at jobs as a set of tasks and argue that the displacement of tasks is a more accurate proxy for the changes ahead, support this approach.
While specific figures for predicted job displacement due to digital change are not provided, the World Bank Development Report 2016 predicts substantial job displacement, leading to a hollowing out of middle-level jobs and a time-glass shaped labor market with growth in manual, low-skilled jobs and high-skilled ones. The scope and speed of digital innovation are highlighted as key factors contributing to the anticipated scale of job displacement ahead.
In summary, UNI Global Union’s strategy to combat job displacement centers on promoting lifelong learning via micro-credentials, shaping service-focused industrial policies to maintain job quality, and mobilizing collaborative efforts between stakeholders to ensure workers remain employable in the face of technological advancement. These approaches seek to empower workers with adaptable skills and secure quality employment amid ongoing digital transformation.
- Historically, workers have adapted their skills to new tools and processes, mirroring the current digital transformation, a challenge UNI Global Union is addressing proactively.
- To ensure employability, UNI Global Union emphasizes strategies such as lifelong learning, skills development, and education-and-self-development, recognizing the importance of adaptable skills in the rapidly evolving digital economy.
- Beyond lifelong learning, UNI Global Union also advocates for career-development opportunities, recognizing the need for workers to grow professionally and adapt to technological advancements in their respective industries.
