Adaptability and entrepreneurial spirit will rebuild employment after over 100 million jobs are lost

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The chart below of weekly initial US unemployment claims puts into context the scope and scale of the economic and employment impact of the pandemic.

The long horizontal scale of chart, giving us temporal perspective, actually hides the extent of the problem, with the spike at the end in fact comprising three weeks of new unemployment claims of first 3.3 million and then the last two weeks at 6.6 million, for a total of 15.6 million.


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The critical role of HR in helping leaders envisage and create the future of work

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I was recently interviewed by Anita Lettink for the 25 on HR 2025 Podcast series, speaking about the future of work and the role of HR in 2025 and beyond.

You can listen to the podcast on the site or below.


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Vectors of Disruption: a framework to clarify the key forces of change

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Yesterday I gave a briefing on Technology Trends and the Future of Work to a group of Non Executive Directors of major corporations, organized by a large professional services firm for its clients.

The group was the first to get a run-through of my new concept framework Vectors of Disruption, shown below, which I used to introduce and frame the rest of my presentation.


Click on the image for the full-size pdf
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What you can do today to prepare for the future of work: Individuals, Families and Organizations

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The Commonwealth Bank Jobs and Skills of the Future Report that I prepared late last year delved into how the world of work is changing, the new jobs that are emerging, the skills that will be required, and how education needs to evolve to meet our changing needs.

To conclude I provided summary advice to individuals, families, and organizations on how to prepare for the future of work. Below is this section of the report. Click here to read the full report (12.4MB).

What you can do today
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Why there will ALWAYS be work for humans

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There is massive uncertainty on the future impact of artificial intelligence.

Among those who we can consider the ‘experts’ – the most qualified on the planet to judge – there are deep disagreements on the potential for general artificial intelligence, the evolution of work, whether AI is an existential threat to humanity, and almost every other aspect of the impact of AI.

Let us leave aside for now the full scope of the future relationship between humans and machines.

On the subject of work, I have frequently found myself bemused by the many people who appear to believe that machines will before long do all work, leaving nothing for humans to do other than hopefully bask in the leisure we have.

While it is possible that fewer people will be in gainful employment (which is not a given, more on that in another post), I don’t believe we will ever have a world of no human work, for many reasons.

What is ‘work’?

Our views on what work is clearly need to evolve for a changing world.
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6 characteristics of education of the future and how credentials will change

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The Commonwealth Bank Jobs and Skills of the Future Report I wrote recently dug into how work and jobs are changing and what skills will be required. These shifts in work mean it is crystal clear that education must also change.

Below is an excerpt from the report giving a snapshot of some of the shifts needed in education:

Education of the Future

Looking further into the future of education, we may see a radical restructuring of how we learn, not just in schools and universities, but through our entire life. Classrooms will continue to exist, enhanced through the use of a wide range of new tools, technologies and methodologies. Education will also become an ongoing part of everyone’s lives, and embedded into our employment, helping us improve our skills and capabilities while we work.
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“Inspiring and terrifying” perspectives on leadership for the future of work

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I was honored to recently give a Special Lecture at Stony Brook University in Long Island, NY, on Leadership for the Future of Work.

I discussed how in a world in which work is dramatically changing, we must all show leadership in taking the actions that will shape as positive a future as possible for society.

Two articles on my keynote captured some of the points I made.

A piece in The Statesman Keynote speaker Ross Dawson discusses the future of work noted:
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Just launched: The Commonwealth Bank jobs and skills of the future report

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The future of work has been a central theme of my work for many years. Work sits at the very center of society, the economy, and our individual and collective identities. It may well be the domain that is most disrupted by technological and social change in coming years. And education is at the heart of how we can make these shifts as positive as possible.

As such I was delighted to be commissioned by Commonwealth Bank to create a report in collaboration with their team: The Commonwealth Bank jobs and skills of the future report (12.4MB), to share useful insights for individuals, families and organisations what we can do today to shape a positive future of work for all Australians.

The report has been launched this morning and can be downloaded here (12.4MB).
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Everyone needs to understand the potential impact of AI and automation

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On Tuesday ABC ran a prime-time special program The AI Race, supplemented by other content including analysis and an interactive tool on the impact of AI on jobs.

The program was excellent, looking at people working in a variety of jobs from truck driver to lawyer and how AI might impact them.

I appeared on the program as part of an ‘expert’ panel discussing the implications of automation on the future of work with a group of young people. The segments where I appeared are in the video below.


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List of the top influencers in the future of work

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Influencer lists should be taken with considerable caution, however they can be useful general indicators of those who are shaping conversations in a particular domain.

Atos Netherlands recently shared an analysis taken from Right Relevance of the top influencers in the future of work, shown below.


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