Futures of work and skills: some foresight exercises in Europe and USA

The Knowledge-based society brought a new way of living and working. The increasing decline of work in primary sector and traditional industries, related with the significant increase of employment in the service sector and in the knowledge work, changed the way companies and individuals establish their relations, the way work and life is organised. These changes are usual and fast and so the feeling of insecurity and unpredictability become more and more sharp. In this context, foresight exercises are necessary tools helping in the identification of the key variables and main trends of evolution. This report will present some foresight studies about work and skills in Europe and USA, in order to contribute to think about possible evolutions and trends.Foresight, Work, Skills, Future

Futures of work and skills: some foresight exercises in Europe and USA

The Knowledge-based society brought a new way of living and working. The increasing decline of work in primary sector and traditional industries, related with the significant increase of employment in the service sector and in the knowledge work, changed the way companies and individuals establish their relations, the way work and life is organised. These changes are usual and fast and so the feeling of insecurity and unpredictability become more and more sharp. In this context, foresight exercises are necessary tools helping in the identification of the key variables and main trends of evolution. This report will present some foresight studies about work and skills in Europe and USA, in order to contribute to think about possible evolutions and trends.WORKS European Commissio

The globalisation in the clothing sector and its implications for work organisation: a view from the Portuguese case

The clothing sector in Portugal is still seen, in many aspects as a traditional sector with some average characteristics, such as: low level of qualifications, less flexible labour legislation and stronger unionisation, very low salaries and low capability of investment in innovation and new technology. Is, nevertheless, a very important sector in terms of labour market, with increased weight in the exporting structure. Globalisation and delocalisation are having a strong impact in the organisation of work and in occupational careers in the sector. With the pressure of global competitiveness in what concerns time and prices, very few companies are able to keep a position in the market without changes in organisation of work and workers. And those that can perform good responses to such challenges are achieving a better economical stability. The companies have found different ways to face this reality according to size, capital and position. We could find two main paths: one where companies outsource a part or the entire production to another territory (for example, several manufacturing tasks), close and/or dismissal the workers. Other path, where companies up skilled their capacities investing, for example, in design, workers training, conception and introduction of new or original products. This paper will present some results from the European project WORKS – Work organisation and restructuring in the knowledge society (6th Framework Programme), focusing the Portuguese case studies in several clothing companies in what concern implications of global context for the companies in general and for the workers in particular, in a comparative analysis with some other European countries.Clothing Industry; Restructuring; Work; Knowledge Society

Futures of automobile industry and challenges on sustainable development and mobility

Portugal had only very few foresight exercises on the automobile sector, and the most recent one was a survey held in a project on work organisation systems in the automobile industry, its recent historical paths and the special strategies of location of companies (the WorTiS project). This involved several teams with different disciplinary backgrounds and from two Portuguese universities. The provisional main results of the first round of a Delphi survey held in Portugal on the automotive sector were already published, but a further analysis was not yet done. This foresight survey was done under the WorTiS project, developed in 2004 by IET – Research Centre on Enterprise and Work Innovation (at FCT-UNL), and financed by the Portuguese Ministry of Science and Technology. Some of this experience on foresight analysis is also been transferred to other projects, namely the WORKS project on work organisation restructuring in the knowledge society that received the support from EC and still is running. The majority of experts considered having an average of less knowledge in almost all the scenario topics presented. This means that information on the automotive industry is not spread enough among academics or experts in related fields (regional scientists, innovation economists, engineers, sociologists). Some have a good knowledge but in very specialised fields. Others have expertise on foresight, or macroeconomics, or management sciences, but feel insecure on issues related with futures of automobile sector. Nevertheless, we considered specially the topics where the experts considered themselves to have some knowledge. There were no “irrelevant” topics considered as such by the expert panel. There are also no topics that are not considered a need for co-operation. The lack of technological infrastructures was not considered as a hindered factor for the accomplishment of any scenario. The experts’ panel considered no other international competence besides US, Japan or Germany in these topics. Special focus will be made in this paper on the topic 2. Public policy and automobile industries, and more specifically on the technological and/or research policies issues, where one can specify the automobile’s role in transport policies with further implications like environment, safety, energy, mobility.automotive industry; scenario; economical co-operation; technology; Delphi survey

The consequences of flexibility

Processes such as globalization, the spread of information technology and the intensification of competition caused significant and meaningful changes in the labour market. On one hand there are some companies that invest in innovation and quality, allowing and encouraging the growth of workers skills, and on the other hand a large number of companies bring the deterioration of employment and working conditions, through the reduction of labour costs and a deregulated market. The flexible company presents itself as the most effective way to ensure competitiveness in an environment of instability and global competition. There are several strategies of readjustment that companies have at their disposal in restructuring the organization of work, from the adjustment of hours of work (part-time, flexible hours, shifts, ect.) to the outsourcing of one or more activities. The flexible market is a reality in European countries and the European Commission seeks to regulate it through the implementation of the Flexicurity model. Combining flexibility with security, this controversial concept combines a flexible labour market with a security system strong and effective. There are several consequences of this flexible management on individuals lives, there seems to be an improvement in living and working conditions for some individuals, who benefit from the reduction of working hours maintaining a stable position with good working conditions, and a deterioration to others, who are subject to a pace of work more intense, with irregular and unpredictable schedules.Flexibility; flexicurity; working conditions; labour market

‘Profissões do conhecimento’ na indústria: o caso dos designers do vestuário. Um estudo comparativo em três países europeus

A reestruturação do trabalho resultante do desenvolvimento da ‘sociedade do conhecimento’ provocou importantes mudanças nas organizações e nos seus trabalhadores. O sector do vestuário, enquanto sector tradicional e com uma necessidade de mão-de-obra intensiva foi dos primeiros sectores onde as diversas organizações procuram utilizar diferentes formas de flexibilidade com o objectivo de se manterem competitivas num mercado cada vez mais internacionalizado. O presente trabalho desenvolve-se a partir do projecto Europeu WORKS, centrando a sua atenção nas ‘profissões do conhecimento’ na indústria, nomeadamente no grupo profissional dos designers do vestuário em três países europeus (Alemanha, França e Portugal) e em diferentes organizações. Para perceber o impacto da reestruturação do trabalho no grupo estudado iremos analisar as mudanças que ocorreram nas suas condições de trabalho, qualificações e competências, uso de conhecimento, identidade profissional e trajectórias de carreira.The restructuring of work resulting from the emergence of knowledge-based society brought important changes in organisations and their employees. The clothing sector, as a traditional sector with a big need of intensive workforce, was one of the first ones where different organisations seek to use different forms of flexibility with the main purpose of remain competitive in a market increasingly internationalised. The present work was developed from the European project WORKS, focusing the ‘knowledge occupations’ in industry, namely the occupational group of fashion designers in three European countries (Germany, France and Portugal) and in different organisations. In order to understand the impact of work restructuring in the occupational group we will analyse the changes that occurred in their working conditions, skills and competences, use of knowledge, professional identity and career trajectories

Relação entre o Conceito de Poder e o de Acção

A ordenação social é um dos temas centrais estudados pela sociologia desde há muito tempo. As teorias de acção social e de estrutura social são duas tradições teóricas usadas para explicar a forma como o mundo social se organiza e como funciona sem necessitar de uma imposição contínua de regras e normas. O poder e a acção social são dois conceitos centrais no mundo social, com uma forte ligação e influência mútua. O poder permite ou limita a acção, dá aos actores a possibilidade de ter mais e melhores oportunidades e posições sociais. A vida social é uma negociação constante, onde o poder e a acção estão sempre presentes, e é esta relação complexa que determina a natureza das relações sociais e o comportamento de cada indivíduo. Partindo de uma exposição teórica, o relatório irá apresentar alguns exemplos relacionados com o mercado de trabalho e comportamento organizacional para realçar a interacção entre os dois conceitos e a sua importância na vida social

Consequências da flexibilidade

Processes such as globalization, the spread of information technology and the intensification of competition caused significant and meaningful changes in the labour market. On one hand there are some companies that invest in innovation and quality, allowing and encouraging the growth of workers skills, and on the other hand a large number of companies bring the deterioration of employment and working conditions, through the reduction of labour costs and a deregulated market. The flexible company presents itself as the most effective way to ensure competitiveness in an environment of instability and global competition. There are several strategies of readjustment that companies have at their disposal in restructuring the organization of work, from the adjustment of hours of work (part-time, flexible hours, shifts, ect.) to the outsourcing of one or more activities. The flexible market is a reality in European countries and the European Commission seeks to regulate it through the implementation of the Flexicurity model. Combining flexibility with security, this controversial concept combines a flexible labour market with a security system strong and effective. There are several consequences of this flexible management on individuals lives, there seems to be an improvement in living and working conditions for some individuals, who benefit from the reduction of working hours maintaining a stable position with good working conditions, and a deterioration to others, who are subject to a pace of work more intense, with irregular and unpredictable schedules

Tendências futuras de evolução das qualificações na Europa

The aim of this report is to highlight the importance of foresight exercises as a necessary tool to help the decision makers, allowing through projections and identification of the main trends, the identification of the key variables of the process and which ones may have more influence in the process of evolution of societies. It will be presented some examples of prospective methods and also scenarios construction. One example is the European project WORKS (Work organization restructuring in the knowledge society) that pretend to built a set of scenarios about the possible evolution of work in Europe in a short, medium and long term, stressing the key variables that may have an important role in the process and their interconnections. Another exemple is the report ‘Future skill needs in Europe’ prepared in 2008 by Cedefop, that presents data about the future development of employment by industry, occupation and qualification by 2015

Consequências da flexibilidade

Processes such as globalization, the spread of information technology and the intensification of competition caused significant and meaningful changes in the labour market. On one hand there are some companies that invest in innovation and quality, allowing and encouraging the growth of workers skills, and on the other hand a large number of companies bring the deterioration of employment and working conditions, through the reduction of labour costs and a deregulated market. The flexible company presents itself as the most effective way to ensure competitiveness in an environment of instability and global competition. There are several strategies of readjustment that companies have at their disposal in restructuring the organization of work, from the adjustment of hours of work (part-time, flexible hours, shifts, ect.) to the outsourcing of one or more activities. The flexible market is a reality in European countries and the European Commission seeks to regulate it through the implementation of the Flexicurity model. Combining flexibility with security, this controversial concept combines a flexible labour market with a security system strong and effective. There are several consequences of this flexible management on individuals lives, there seems to be an improvement in living and working conditions for some individuals, who benefit from the reduction of working hours maintaining a stable position with good working conditions, and a deterioration to others, who are subject to a pace of work more intense, with irregular and unpredictable schedules