The work changes, but never stops

The transformation of work and the renewal of working life through robotisation, digitalisation and artificial intelligence are probably among the most discussed topics today. We have all heard how the world has never changed as fast as it is now, and how change will never be as slow as it is now. The development and transformation of technology will certainly change the way we work and the way we work in ways we cannot yet imagine. It is impossible for me to imagine working without the ubiquitous smartphone that was used to write the first version of this blog on the sofa at home. 30 years ago, this would probably have been written on a typewriter in the office and then sent as a letter or fax to be published in a stakeholder magazine. This way of working must have been in the minds of quite a few people at the time.

Work, working methods and working life have always been modernised and changed. Fears about jobs as new technologies develop have also been present since at least the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. It is quite clear that digitalisation and robotisation, not to mention artificial intelligence, will destroy existing jobs. At the same time, however, they will create new jobs, which I believe will be created at least as much as the old ones disappear. A good example of this is the media revolution. Journalists have lost a huge number of jobs in recent years, but there are probably more people than ever making a living from content production. They are now called bloggers, consultants, tubettists, etc., in addition to journalists, and are paid by advertisers, sponsors, a communications agency or crowdfunding instead of a monthly salary from a newspaper house. This is the transformation of working life, which will touch more and more industries in the future. The challenge for individuals, labour market organisations and society as a whole is to keep up and come out on top.

So what does an individual need to do to stay afloat in a changing world of work? The most important thing is to maintain, renew and develop skills. Life will increasingly be about learning new things and there will always be a demand for the right skills. This is also a key challenge for society and the education system. How can a qualification-based education system respond to the challenge of continuous learning? Without change - no way. There is already an urgent need to develop the content and structures of the education system to meet the needs of lifelong learning. This is hopefully also recognised in the ongoing work on higher education visions by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Mikko Vieltojärvi

The author works as an agent for education, labour and economic policy at the Tradenomiliitto TRAL ry.