Technology, skills and the changing nature of work

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the emerging skill requirements of the Australian labour force and the appropriate responses of education, training and other authorities to the changing nature of work. It looks at recent trends in the nature of work and in the skill composition of employment in light of the emerging knowledge economy. The focus is on Australia and the United States of America (USA), a country in which the changes are likely to be the most advanced. A range of OECD countries are also reviewed. The paper is structured as follows: the first section provides an overview of the paper; section two highlights some of the main changes becoming apparent in the nature of work and in the context in which work takes place focusing on changes in the composition of employment, in the relative position of men and women in the labour market, the fall in full-time employment, and the development of a core and periphery model in the labour market; section three looks at the complex patterns of skill change and provides a general review of patterns of similarity and difference in the OECD countries and a more detailed occupational analysis of Australia and the USA; and the final section explores the complex pattern of skill change by examining the changing structure of employment by earnings.