The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the new business models demand the region to calibrate the GPS of education and work in order to reach the destination of inclusive and sustainable development.

By Martín Padulla

During the next two decades we will be part of changes more transcending than the ones that have already taken place during the past two centuries. The speed of these transformations is exponential and the impacts are transversal. They are changing the way we live and relate.

In this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous context, there is a certain level of consensus regarding two very important concepts for the labour world: what we are living today seems to be only the tip of the iceberg and clinging to the status quo does not seem to be a valid option.

Artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, among other technologies, are already a part of our daily lives, and, with each day that goes by, they become more and more important.  Clearly, this has a strong impact on our labour markets, and the consequences directly question the education system, which requires changes to train essential talent for knowledge societies.

This vertiginous growth of various technologies shows it’s most defiant expression in the singularity agenda, which states that in a short period of time there will be a convergence of several technologies, artificial intelligence will reach human intelligence and the frontiers between physical, biological and digital will be blurry.

This convergence will probably speed up the aging process of our societies, with every challenge such process entails in terms of infrastructure, healthcare systems, pension systems, among other dimensions.

From a sociological point of view, the most disruptive thing we are living is that social interaction is no longer between humans, but between humans and robots, human intelligence and artificial intelligence. This “combined” social interaction demands very significant qualitative answers, both in the education and in the business level.

When a company speaks today about Human Resources it is providing a definition about its position towards the future of work. It is a statement of principles. Clearly, they should hurry up to get out of this fordist vision of the world, and provide more and better resources to the humans that shall make use of them to face several challenges. Traditional organizations are threatened by the vertiginous growth of young, technological and disruptive companies that show a purpose, increase human capital and have created the largest number of jobs during 2016 in OECD member countries. These companies push others to change, adapt, or disappear.

The education system must connect better with this reality. It needs to become more collaborative, prone to teamwork, less individualistic and encyclopaedic, more connected with emotions and experiences, less static, way more dynamic. This change of focus must include stronger efforts to teach STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) knowledge, more technical knowledge, more socioemotional skills, but, most importantly, it is key to urgently consolidate the idea of life-long learning, not as the accumulation of knowledge, but as the idea of learning to unlearn in order to relearn. Clearly, this is a major challenge for trainers and apprentices. We will need new skills, some of which we still do not know as the needs that shall drive them have not been created yet.

The idea of apprentices may semantically enclose the sense of this need: Latin America needs to permanently train apprentices during the entire education and working life span. If technologies make the frontiers between physical, biological and digital blurry, the very same thing is happening with the barrier between education and work.

And what about regulatory frameworks? Currently, they regulate a concept of work that is on the verge of extinction. Legislations do not considers the variety of labour relations that actually exist. They do not contribute to the creation of a business environment 4.0. The employment crisis brings along a revolution of work that shows very clear signals: there is a wide variety of forms of labour, some of which are regulated (the most modern labour markets have between 35 and 40 different labour contracts), and others that lack regulation and demand creativity and flexibility in order to stop denying reality and protecting workers in a different way.

Our region is chancing the possibility of achieving sustainable development. For those of us who are involved with the labour world, this might be the most transcending task at hand, because transcending implies going beyond ourselves. If we manage to seize the window of demographic opportunity through permanent training of skills based on demand, the relentless and systematic pursuit of pertinence and the modernization of our regulatory frameworks, we may have a real chance of development.

It is definitely worth it chasing this goal. Many claim that they are the most transcending because they will provide different opportunities to our children and grandchildren. It is time to get connected with our essence, human beings are transforming creatures. We need to transform quickly by doing several things simultaneously.  We must demand to be up to the task.

About Martin Padulla

Founder and Managing Director of staffingamericalatina. Martin Padulla is Sociologist (USAL), MBA (UCA) and labour markets expert. He published “Flexible Work in South America” and “Regulatory framework for private employment agencies in Latin America” two books about the new realities of work in Latin America.

Follow Martín Padulla on Twitter: @MartinPadulla

mpadulla@staffingamericalatina.com

About staffingamericalatina

It is the unique independent digital media specialized in Latin American´s labour markets.

Produce and spread contents, researches and developments about issues such us Employability, Youth Employment, Training for Employment, Decent Work, Private Employment Agencies, Active policies for employment, Teleworking, Public and private actions for the creation of decent work, Green Jobs and Corporate Social Responsibility.

It is the meeting point for companies, providers, candidates, service´s companies, academics and independent professionals of Latin America.

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