Work is already undergoing major changes due to technological progress, the internationalization of markets, new production methods and demographic developments.
The development of new technologies is bringing about reorganizations in the world of work, affecting all sectors and professional activities.
The so-called “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is built on the Third Industrial Revolution – also known as the Digital Revolution -, that is, on the spread of computers and automation, and is not a simple evolution of it, because it also presents significant differences from it.
Firstly, innovations are being developed in areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, three-dimensional printing (3D), the internet of things, cloud computing, nanotechnologies, etc., which are spreading at high speed, affecting all countries and regions of the planet.
Secondly, emerging new technologies, combined with the rise of online platforms for selling goods and services (e.g. Airbnb, Ebay, Booiking), which concentrate activities in many sectors (housing, domestic services, transport, etc.), are causing deep rifts in traditional markets and forms of work organization, accelerating transactions, shaping new consumer habits, changing the way we work, entertain ourselves, train and acquire skills, and changing our social and transactional relationships.
The changes in the work sector are of such scope that they can create employment opportunities on a global scale, due to the emergence of new forms of work and the increase in autonomy and flexibility in determining when, where and how work is performed.
However, they also entail risks of marginalization of individuals and groups who will not be able to follow the rapid spread of innovations and the rapid changes in the organization of work.
Specific jobs will inevitably be lost due to automation, although so far these impacts concern a relatively small part of all employment (it is estimated that a percentage of 5%-10% of jobs will be fully automated).
At the same time, however, new specialties and jobs are being created. The new jobs that will be created and those that will be transformed will require upgrading existing ones and acquiring new skills.
People must be able to follow these developments, and to do so they must acquire the necessary skills that will allow them to successfully exploit new automations for the benefit of both themselves and the economy as a whole.
These developments will inevitably prolong a trend that has already been recorded in recent decades in developed and developing countries, with demand in the labor market being directed towards people with increased skills and a better level of education.
The education system therefore emerges, more than ever, as a key tool for shielding society from the risk of marginalization and social exclusion.
The challenge therefore for all countries, including Greece, is to design measures to adapt businesses, the existing and future workforce, to the changes that the fourth industrial revolution brings to the future of work, so that the transition to the new advanced digital era can be smooth.
These changes have signaled the need for flexibility, not only in businesses, but also in the labor market and in the workforce itself.
As it becomes clear, the greatest challenge for the future of work lies in creating a sufficient share of highly skilled jobs, high pay and good working conditions.
Only in this way will the production of high-quality and value-added goods and services be achieved, which can maintain and improve the general level of economic activity and prosperity.
The main trends recorded at international and European level regarding changes in the world of work are the following:
· Need to update and upgrade the skills of the entire workforce.
· All professions and jobs will require basic digital skills (35% of the basic skills required in the work environment in 2020 will have changed compared to the past or will be completely new).
· Acquisition of skills that can be recognized, used and transferred to different work environments and regions of the planet.
· Changes in the organization of work with alternating networks of small and flexible groups of workers interconnected through new technologies.
Therefore, the need for planning is imperative to:
· upgrading the skills of the existing workforce
· forecasting needs and producing new skills that respond to the nature of the new jobs that are expected to be created
· facilitating the adaptation to the demanding conditions of the labor market of newly entered individuals and the unemployed
· integrating internships into all programs of Higher and Postgraduate Education Institutions
· adopting special programs for older workers and for those laid off, with the aim of their immediate reintegration into the labor market
· promoting alternative forms of learning
· promoting partnerships between businesses and educational and research institutions with the aim of promoting innovation and ensuring its implementation.