Page 7 - Employers-and-Guidance-process

Trends in the Labour Market

Globalisation, the digital revolution, demography and an economy
where services predominate are examples of mega trends that
are changing the requirements needed to access the labour
market, creating new challenges for systems of education and
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for students who are often unaware which skills are most valued
by employers .
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Technological advances occur so fast, for example at the level of
information technology, that we all need to learn on an ongoing
basis, to stay updated and integrated, which makes predicting or
anticipating with exactitude which skills will be more relevant in
the future very complex .
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These factors may deepen the gap or disconnection between
existing skills and those required by the labour market, a
phenomenon that has been studied since the 1970s in the United
States and continues to contribute to unemployment and low
productivity. Skills mismatch can be either vertical (on
qualification) or horizontal (qualification in a different area than
required) and both tend to be minimised by reinforcing
partnerships between education and training systems with the
labour market and vice versa .
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Today, workers benefit if they are equipped for the knowledge
economy, where complex tasks which require learning and
coordination are increasing.