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Worker 4.0 - Adaptation of workers to the demands of technological innovations

The international seminar “Worker 4.0 - Adaptation of workers to the demands of technological innovations” took place in Maribor, Slovenia, on 26 and 27 January 2018. It was organized by the Association of Workers ZD NSi (Združenje delavcev Nove Slovenije), in cooperation with the Social Academy and the Institute dr. Janez Evangelista Kreka, with the support of the European Center for Workers' Questions (EZA) and of the European Union.

As representatives of workers' organizations we see that the industry, as well as the service sector, are changing rapidly during the era of the 4th industrial revolution. We witness innovations based on technologies like, for example, internet of things, mobile devices, mass data processing, robotics, 3-D printing and genetic engineering. These technological changes bring sociological, economic, political and other changes as well. New ways of creating, producing and selling products are emerging. Business models have changed. By individualizing requests from users, the boundaries between products and services are erased (for example: the user does not order products, but only the blueprint for it, then "prints" it himself). New ethical issues arise which need to be resolved before they escalate.

Labor market in the world 4.0

In line with these social changes, the labor market changes. Influenced by several factors, for example, aging of the population, which will in future lead to labor shortage, and the automation of production, which will in future lead to excessive workforce. Projections of labor surpluses for the medium term are so diverse - some predict that the workforce will be too few in the future and others that it will be too much. Most experts, however, agree that in future we will witness even stronger structural unemployment, a strong demand for some professions and a lack of interest for others.

The nature of the work is also changing. Switching jobs will be even more frequent than it was a few years ago. More people will work in the cloud, work from a distance, as well as work through various online platforms. The boundaries between working hours and free time are erased. The share of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises is growing. Organizational structures in companies are increasingly flexible. The ever increasing trend is the recruitment of workers for an individual service on account of (regular) employment. Personnel specialization is growing, and the need for their integration into global networks is increasing. Consumers have also been involved in product design processes, and the borders between manufacturers and users are also being erased (prosumer). Working environments (or offices) in some industries are mainly the areas of social contacts (latte machiato offices).

Countries responses to the changes in the labor market

Many countries in the EU have problems in dealing with the challenges of industry 4.0 at the policy-making level. New forms of employment lead to the obsolescence of current labor legislation and often result in unemployment statistics as unrealistic. One of the key factors for successfully facing the challenges of the labor market in the future, is the ability to predict future situations. The mere linear thinking, based on the assumption that the situation will not change significantly, is probably not capable of producing good results.

Legislative adjustments are needed in several areas: employment, education, training, business support (economic legislation) and fiscal policy. We need to take action, quickly. Countries that have not acted fast enough are already facing a brain drain and emigration, as the labor market globalizes.

The seminar highlighted examples of green and white books Arbeit 4.0 (Germany), the digitization committee in France (known for example by the "right of disconnection"), the strategy of smart specialization in Slovenia, and the platform for the self-employed, which in some countries provides counselling with legal and health services, support for cross-border cooperation, etc.

Competences for working in the era of industry 4.0

In the era of the 4th industrial revolution, some occupations are disappearing, others are emerging. According to some data, more than half of today's primary school pupils will be working in occupations that do not even exist today. The goal of education should be that a person can, after finishing, be immediately actively involved in the work process. However, in the vast majority in general that is not the case. This can be mitigated by strategic partnerships between educational institutions, research institutions and businesses.

Due to the great uncertainty about the future of professions, it is worthwhile to talk about competencies in addition to the professions. Competencies are divided into general (which everyone needs, for example, in a specific industry) and specific (which only some people need). In industry 4.0, it often happens that competencies turn from specific, within a few years, into general (for example: the use of a smartphone was, a decade ago, a specific competence, today is general).

Companies need to respond to the needs for new competences. They often define the so called "competence gap" - the difference between the current and desired state of competencies in a company. On the basis of such a review, they can define educational modules and also connect with other companies or educational institutions. Based on such reviews, new competence models for the entire industry can also be created. An example was pointed out, from Slovenia (the Škofja Loka Interprofessional Education Center), which connects companies, educational institutions and development / research institutions, while it is financed from both public funds and funds by companies.

In order to stem the gap in competences, companies use different strategies. The most frequent are staff re-training, attracting staff from other environments or fields, offering internships and encouraging personnel circulation. In doing so, they see that young (millennial) people look at the labor market in a different way than other generations. They do not only fulfil the need for survival, but also expect other aspects of quality life in, and from the workplace (social networking, realization of personal mission, belonging ...)

At the heart of educational processes, even when it comes to industry 4.0, it must always be human. Danger is that in education we only address professional and technological competences, but forget about relationships and attitudes. As a key educational goal in the world 4.0, especially among young people, the emphasis is on strengthening personal motivation for work and the competence of self-management.

Educational programs must also be judged from the aspect of employee satisfaction and the quality of his work and life. In addressing these two areas, community aspects of education (education in and for the community) have been strongly demonstrated. The inclusion of the population in different communities is extremely low in some environments. The correct relationship between e-learning and "live" learning must also be taken into consideration.

Social dialogue in the world and industry 4.0

In various online and other sources, the technological side of the industry 4.0 is presented in a very detailed and positive way, and its impact on workers is exposed and studied in much less detail. Global trends create, in particular atypical jobs. Labor relations (contracts) are individualized and agreements between employers and employees in many cases are not approved by trade unions and collective agreements. Flexibility of jobs is thus carried out at several levels: time (available at any time), spatial (working from anywhere), work for multiple employers, simultaneous performance of several different activities. Particularly exposed are vulnerable groups, such as young women.

Trade unions and other workers' organizations devote plenty of time to reflect on and question how to combine the required flexibility and the necessary social security in workplaces. Of particular importance is the question, how to include those with atypical forms of employment. The fact is that there is a need to strive for standards for these forms of employment, despite the fact that such personnel are usually not included in trade unions. Lowering standards in atypical forms of employment indirectly reduces standards, and hence the quality of jobs, in regular forms of employment.

One of the possible solutions is the European Pillar of Social Rights. The processes of its creation and implementation need to be even more intensified. It is also necessary to reflect on the kind of offer that trade unions and other workers' organizations can bring to bearers of new, atypical forms of employment.