Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PILLARS (PATHWAYS TO INCLUSIVE LABOUR MARKETS)
Reporting period: 2022-03-01 to 2023-12-31
While technology and international trade are the triggers of change in the labour market, workers’ skills are the main channel mediating their impact: PILLARS will study all aspects together to understand the mechanisms through which these three major drivers affect labour markets directly and indirectly through skills.
The public and policy makers need to be able to forecast changes in labour markets with some degree of certainty. In particular, this means determining what kind of (new) skills will be in demand and how education and training systems need to be adapted to create the opportunities to acquire these skills.
Another important factor is how labour mobility and migration can be (de)regulated and facilitated so that workers can migrate along with industries while avoiding the increasing inequalities between regions. PILLARS focuses especially on the interrelations between the EU and China and Latin America.
PILLARS addresses these challenges and aims to develop a three-pillar framework:
• Pillar 1: Past
The first pillar quantifies the impact of technological change and structural transformation on labour market outcomes (employment, wages and mobility) caused by the mismatch between demand and supply of skills. Therefore, pillar 1 aims to provide a comprehensive and empirically solid account of the combined effect of (i) past waves of automation technologies, (ii) recent trends in international fragmentation of production in Global Value Chains (GVCs), and (iii) industrial transformation of European regions on EU labour markets in terms of employment restructuring, skill mismatch and migration.
• Pillar 2: Future
The second pillar studies future trends in emerging automation technologies; functional specialisation along GVCs; industrial transformation; and skill requirements. The aim of this pillar is to obtain quantified predictions of the direction of change of three major determinants of labour markets and how they will affect the demand for skills and jobs in the near future. Therefore, pillar 2 includes a comprehensive set of forecasting scenarios based on the impact assessment in pillar 1 and the projection of (i) industries’ future exposure to emerging automation technologies; (ii) EU regional industrial transformation and (de)specialisation; and (iii) the functional reallocation of workers along GVC and migration flows; and (iv) potential skill mismatch resulting from projections of skill demand and supply.
• Pillar 3: Present
The third pillar provides a systematic evaluation of the effect of recent innovation, training and migration policies on labour markets, allowing the identification of areas of success. Related scenarios for the future of labour markets are then calculated, taking into account predictions about emerging automation technologies. This will lead to proposing a coherent and cohesive policy roadmap that includes a range of measures in different policy areas (innovation, trade, education and training) to achieve Pathways to Inclusive Labour Markets.
PILLARS will contribute novel and robust empirical evidence to inform policy makers and provide a comprehensive set of forecasting scenarios for the future of labour markets. This will also contribute to better policy evaluations and good practices and re-direct unsuccessful policy options. This also includes identifying priority areas and challenges in the governance of the globalization of labour markets vis a vis the emerging world.
Furthermore, the project aims at maximizing the level of engagement of relevant stakeholders and co-production of results in order to best identify the challenges of technological transformation and globalization and to guide policy. Ultimately, PILLARS supports building consensus and legitimation of EU policies through engagement and consultation with stakeholders. Workshops will be organized in different countries to pool input from different stakeholders, supplement research material, and develop a comprehensive policy toolkit, which will support different stakeholders in developing viable policies and strategies for local governance.