By Carlos Ospinoni and Nicole Amaral

Given the fact that an increasing number of jobs are being automatized, is studying at university worth it? Is it necessary to expand the educational supply in training centers? As technology continues to accelerate changes in the labor market, the concept of lifelong learning becomes more and more relevant. However, the challenge policymaker’s face is all about having more and better information on the skills employers look for.

New information sources on the labor market

New technologies and massive data are creating new information source on the labor market. Companies that have billions of users – such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google-, can provide applications that help organizations to find talent, and jobseekers to get a job. Another advantage is that this platforms have more detailed geographical information, and thus provide data on the skills’ demand on a local level. New technologies also reduce costs for continuously collecting large amounts of information, and increase the speed in which we can get it and process it (which is particularly important for those industries where the skills’ demand is constantly changing).

The use of big data does not replace but rather complement traditional information sources, such s census, household and employees’ surveys, and administrative records. These traditional sources hold huge value when measuring trends on a macro level and getting representative statistics about workers, employment, and jobs. However, there are limitations when working with these sources. As they rely on manual data recollection, traditional sources cannot update information on the skills that a constantly changing labor market demands. Furthermore, traditional sources are usually expensive and cannot access the same level of detail than big data.

The future of work, LinkedIn and the G20

As part of the activities that support the debate on the future of work at the G20, the IDB and LinkedIn are working together to explore news sources of information on jobs and skills in the G20 countries (which include certain countries in Latin America and the Caribbean). This partnership uses LinkedIn profiles’ data to analyze changes in hiring patterns and to learn more about what are the most demanded positions and skills. As regards labor migration, the analysis focuses on how regions are gaining or losing human talent and how migrants can help to reduce skills gaps. Finally, this alliance will enable us to understand how we can support workers whose jobs are disappearing, identifying what skills can be transferred to other sectors.

Even though LinkedIn data does not represent the entire labor market, the platform has over 530 million users, 18 million companies and 11 million employment opportunities posted. In addition, there are over 50,000 different sills registered in LinkedIn. To ensure users’ privacy, we are using aggregated and anonymous data the entire time.

More and better data to generate employment opportunities for everyone

The IDB is also working with governments to invest in data infrastructure, and to modernize labor market information systems by delivering data from traditional surveys and administrative records to public offices. This way, public policymakers can understand the context and make the most from the detailed information that LinkedIn and other non-traditional sources provide in real time. Likewise, this infrastructure will enable students, workers and employers to get a better overlook on the labour market. Click here to access an interactive report with the preliminary results of our research.

Source: Factor Trabajo