I attended last week to two insightful days at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conference in Geneva on the topic of the future of work.
As you can imagine, the dialogue around the future of work or better, as someone said during the conference, about working in the future has been deep and complex.
One of the discussion panels that interested me the most was the “Youth perspective”. First of all, I think we need to acknowledge that youth is the present and plays a critical role in shaping the “future of work”. This acknowledgement must drive us to shift the language we use around work and the youth in the workplace. In today's global economy, the perspective of the younger generations suggests that business, government and communities must come together to create opportunities and build a stronger workforce for the future. Now is the time to undertake a flexible, focused and nimble approach to strengthen our systems and create new opportunities for youth.
When asked what they value most their voice was loud and clear:
- Quality of the work.
- Inclusive, equal and sustainable workplaces.
- More female leaders.
- Flexibility
We need young people to be offered equal opportunities to develop new skills and gain experience across the world of work. Attracting young talents will require a change of attitude from business. A business that is more human-centred, fluid and that values as competitive advantage the “being” more than the “doing”.
In the next days and weeks, I will share more in a series of blogs that summarize the two days dialogue at ILO.
Visit the ILO.org website for a view on the summary of the event and check the brilliant summary Sesil put together on whirlingchief.com