Workers are hesitant to pursue further education

Working life researchers Kristin Alsos (Fafo) and Mari Holm Ingelsrud (AFI) spoke about the consequences of digitalization for working life at the YS conference on Tuesday, October 22.

Technological developments are changing the way workers perform their jobs. This places new demands on skills. Many people are wondering how many jobs will disappear.

Researcher Kristin Alsos at Fafo presented findings that shed light on this.

Jobs are disappearing – but how many?

A study has come up with the following figures regarding the proportion of current jobs that will disappear as a result of new technology, distributed across several different countries.

• USA 47%
• Norway 33%
• Finland 37%
• Sweden 53%

“This study has been criticized. Another study shows lower numbers for how many jobs will be lost as a result of new technology,” Alsos said.

• Norway 10%
• Finland 7%
• Sweden 7%

“Work tasks are changing, but that doesn't necessarily mean that jobs are disappearing,” said researcher Kristin Alsos.

“You have to ask how many jobs are created by new technology,” she said.

Greater differences between workers

Research shows signs that the differences between workers are increasing. More jobs require high skills and pay high wages. More jobs require low skills and pay low wages on the other hand. The number of moderately well-paid jobs has decreased. 

At the same time, it turned out that competence is increasing in all layers of the labor market. 

No more low-wage jobs

Fafo has investigated polarization in working life in the period 2000 – 2010. In Norway, there have been no more low-wage jobs during this period, but there has been growth in occupations that pay high wages.  

– Some Norwegian workers are worried that jobs will disappear. The low-educated are more worried than the highly educated. People are afraid of losing their own jobs. Concerns are also linked to the fact that their own skills will become outdated, said Alsos.  

New technology and training: – Untapped potential

In workplaces where new technology has been introduced within the last 12 months, employees were asked whether they have received sufficient training.

Bank and insurance employees (74%) are the most likely to say they have received sufficient training in new technology. Public sector employees (58%) are at the bottom. 

– There is untapped potential for technology to be used in the right way, commented Kristin Alsos.

Wage inequality has increased throughout Northern Europe in the period 2002 – 2015. Norway is still low compared to other countries in Northern Europe, but wage inequality is also increasing in our country. 

– It is the lowest paid who are not included in the wage growth, said Alsos.

Consequences of digitalisation

Mari Holm Ingelsrud is a researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Labour Research (AFI), and has worked closely with YS through the YS Working Life Barometer. 

What does digitalization mean for employees? Ingelsrud highlighted various types of consequences. Efficiency provides great opportunities for quality improvement. Working life is being changed. Ingelsrud highlighted some projects AFI has worked on.  

Tax collection has changed

One workplace that has felt the consequences of digitalization is the Norwegian Tax Administration. 

– Much of the case processing has become redundant here. There has been a streamlining that means that higher competence is required in the front-line service than before, said Ingelsrud. 

“The tasks are not necessarily becoming more interesting, even though the requirements for competence are increasing,” she pointed out. 

Insurance industry severely affected

In the insurance industry, case managers who answer customer calls have also experienced major changes in their work tasks. Here, too, the tasks have become more complex. The demands for self-management have increased, and higher competence is required. The systems offer various ways to generate additional sales, by providing more information about the customer and being able to offer more and more customized products. 

– If you see that the customer is a homeowner with children and a car, then you might be able to offer pet insurance in addition, said Ingelsrud.   

iPad logs driving patterns and fuel consumption

A third group Ingelsrud referred to are bus drivers. The drivers are equipped with an iPad that also records driving patterns, such as hard braking. This gives the drivers the opportunity for more self-management, but supervisors also receive the same information about the employee's way of performing their work.

Findings from the YS Working Life Barometer

– More and more YS members believe that their work tasks can be taken over by a machine, said Ingelsrud. 

But most people still don't believe it will happen to them. 

– Many people believe that they need to strengthen their digital skills, they believe that they will get new work tasks as a result of increased digitalization, said Ingelsrud. 

The latest figures in the barometer show that fewer people than previously believe they will lose their jobs. 

When asked about the consequences of increased digitalization, 38 percent of YS members are optimistic, 12 percent are pessimistic and the remaining 50 percent in the middle are neutral and wait-and-see.

More people believe they need to increase their skills, fewer want to pursue further education.

– A majority of those surveyed believe that they need to increase their digital skills, that they will be given new work tasks and that the number of tasks requiring expertise will increase, said Ingelsrud.

– Everyone we interviewed sees the need for more expertise. The paradox is that fewer people want to take continuing education. The desire to take more education decreases the lower the level of education the respondents have, she says.

– Does this mean it's time to think differently about education? Should we offer credits or competence enhancement on specific topics? I think this is an interesting question, which is up to politicians to answer, said the AFI researcher.

– We would like to address this issue, said the conference host, second deputy chair of YS, Monica Paulsen, when she thanked the two researchers for their presentations.