December Newsletter... A plea for investment, and learning to grow.

The year is racing on and we will take this opportunity to wish you the very best for the forthcoming festive season. Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement came bearing gifts for some though - as we explore in this blog post from our three wise men co-founders - there are still opportunities for the incentives for businesses to invest in technology to be matched by similar incentives to invest in people. We would also have liked to have seen – as our research on how to get the best out of AI adoption suggests – more public investment in infrastructure that will mean regional inequalities are reduced.

The run-up to Christmas will also be a busy time working on the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDI) which was prioritised in the King's Speech. We worked with Chris Bryant - Shadow Minister for Creative Industries and Digital – to re-table an amendment to introduce a set of Digital Information Principles at Work that the Secretary of State would have to have regard to when considering legislation. We will be continuing to push for improvements to the Bill as it proceeds.

Looking to 2024, we have major findings that we will be publishing from the Pissarides Review into the Future of Work and Wellbeing. This multi-year project is funded by the Nuffield Foundation, who are hosting a webinar that will profile our work on 24th January. More info below, but we do hope that you will sign up.

Anna Thomas MBE , Abigail Gilbert and the IFOW team

Deep Dive: Learning to Grow - the importance of skills to economic strategy

IFOW recently co-published with the Economy 2030 team at the Resolution Foundation , Learning to Grow, emphasising the importance of developing a skills strategy as part of a broader economic strategy.

The report focuses on three sectors of strategic importance for the UK’s future growth and, importantly, that are also a source of good work: financial and business services, creative and cultural sectors, and life sciences. The findings point to the need to invest in more education across the board, particularly to increase the number of future workers with tertiary education and sub-degree qualifications, and for continuous skills development to enable the adaptation of workers already in the market.

Forthcoming work from our Pissarides Review into the Future of Work and Wellbeing, funded by the Nuffield Foundation , in collaboration with the Centre for Economic Performance, expands on this research. Leveraging rich online job postings data, this new work uses cutting-edge machine learning techniques to not only give a granular view of changes in skills requirements since 2016, but also to identify bundles of skills across different dimensions that are resonating with one another. With a particular focus on the tech sector that is driving change, the novel techniques being used in the analysis will offer insights into which skills are emerging and which are disappearing, and quantify the skill turnover across occupations, identifying professions for which requirements are changing incredibly fast. This work emphasises the need for policies that support continuous learning and training of workers in this fast-moving market.

Interesting reads / Events

This is a shortened version of our full run-down of the most important reads and events in the #FutureOfWork space that we feature in our monthly newsletter. Subscribe here to receive that directly to your inbox each month.

New business guidance to boost skills and unlock the benefits of AI

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has just published guidance for businesses to 'support them to upskill their workers with the tools they need for jobs alongside AI.'

Created by the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme in partnership with the Alan Turing Institute, this draft is being supported by a consultation period during which organisations are invited to offer feedback on it. Our view is that this lacks a framework for properly engaging worker voices when adopting AI systems, something that is central to our research-driven tool, the Good Work Algorithmic Impact Assessment.

Using AI to support people with disability in the labour market - opportunities and challenges

People with disabilities face persisting difficulties in the labour market and there are concerns that AI, if managed poorly, could further exacerbate these challenges. Yet, AI also has the potential to create more inclusive and accommodating environments and might help remove some of the barriers faced by people with disability in the labour market. Building on interviews with more than 70 stakeholders, this report from the OECD explores the potential of AI to foster employment for people with disabilities.

Artificial Intelligence in the Creative Industries (4th December, 230-330pm, online)

In this presentation, Linden Walcott-Burton - expert policy lead for AI in the creative industries at the GLA, and one of the speakers at our recent Making the Future Work conference, will uncover AI's emerging impact on the creative sector, a major powerhouse in the UK economy, and one that is experiencing unique impacts from AI.

Place and Opportunity: a better future for work and skills (24th January, online)

We are pleased to be joining the Resolution Foundation and National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to present new findings from our major Nuffield-funded projects. A panel of policy and business experts from across the country will unpack the research and reflect on what it means for their local areas, before opening to a wider discussion, giving attendees the chance to offer insights and suggestions for new areas of research inquiry.

If you would like to receive our full monthly newsletter direct to your inbox, subscribe here. For regular updates about our work, you can also follow us on Twitter.