G20 Task Force: The Future of Work

The Centre for Post 14 Education and Work advised the G20 on how to adapt to new challenges facing labour markets in the digital age.

Background

The G20 is an international forum for heads of state, finance ministers and central bank governors from 19 individual states and the European Union. G20 members meet annually to discuss matters of global concern that require international action, such as climate change, development and counter-terrorism.

The T20 is a network of research institutes and think tanks from the G20 countries, who provide evidence-based policy recommendations to the G20 leaders. 

Challenge

The world of work is changing: major technical transformations, including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and FinTech, have been shaking up global economies in recent years, with the current period dubbed the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’. 

New jobs, industries and ways of doing business have emerged and are creating immense economic opportunities and growth. However, the changing technological landscape creates demand for new and different skills, as well as fresh challenges for governments in promoting access, protecting rights and generating sustainable economic growth.

In 2018, T20 established a Task Force to consider the ‘Future of Work and Education for the Digital World’. The group’s role was to advise on education policies that will enable all people to develop to their full potential and to prosper in the digital world.

Solution

The Centre for Post-14 Education and Work at IOE contributed three policy briefings on behalf of the Task Force, which recommended:

• An inclusive and devolved Social Ecosystem Model, whereby networks of educators, employers and local government collaborate to facilitate lifelong skill development in their local regions;
• A transnational resource for policymakers to identify the most appropriate financial models for funding post-compulsory education, so that policymakers may learn from the experience of others;
• A place-making approach to education, using the creative industries as a case study for other new sectors that develop as clusters, rather than evenly throughout a country, so that young people’s skills and opportunities in their local job market are more closely aligned.

The three briefings were presented at the T20 summit in Buenos Aires, 16-18 September 2018.

Impact 

As a result of the Task Force’s efforts, the G20 communiqué recognised the social impact of changing employment patterns in the digital age, and included a commitment to ensuring that the benefits of technological transformations are shared by all. 

Paul Grainger was invited back to the T20 task force in 2019, for which he co-wrote a policy briefing for promoting best practices in technical and vocational training.

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