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A study anticipates major changes in the world of work – the search for ideas on how to deal with these is ongoing.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already an integral part of many fields of work. For example in online trading: “Think of the algorithms for product recommendations in online trading,” says Katharina Degen.
She has together with a team evaluated the labor market data from ten cantons between 2010 and 2020. Degen has seen that digitization has led to job cuts or shifts.
Translation and other help tools and, more recently, ChatGPT also simplify a lot of work: “They give us ready-made answers to many questions,” emphasizes Degen. And this is where the influence of AI on the job market really becomes noticeable.
Flexibility and technical know-how required
Nevertheless, you can see that the professional fields and, above all, the job profiles are changing – across almost all professional groups. According to Degen, the employees are required to use many different programs and tools, they need to be able to handle data protection security securely and have a certain amount of know-how when it comes to technical problems.
But not only the digital skills would become even more important in the age of AI. Above all, the willingness to adapt to new situations more and more quickly is becoming increasingly important. It’s about curiosity, adaptability. Self-management, as it is called in modern German.
Competence portfolios would also make lateral entry easier.
This development poses challenges for the economy. Because how does it find suitable employees and keep them digitally fit?
In view of these challenges, Edgar Player from the Office for Economics and Labor of the Canton of Zurich is convinced that a fundamental rethinking of job placement is needed.
A wide variety of skills are required
The currency of the future is not a narrow professional understanding, but a portfolio of overarching competencies. Such portfolios should apply to the whole of Switzerland and be drawn up by the professional associations, according to players.
A bank employee, for example, would be characterized by the skills in using various digital tools, by presentation and consulting skills or by a high degree of personal responsibility. These are skills that are also sought after in other professional fields. And so job placement would be more flexible or it would be easier to change jobs.
Occupational fields could move together
“The competency portfolios also make it easier for people to enter the company laterally,” says Player. You can see which fields of activity are close together and when retraining is feasible.
That sounds good – in theory. In practice, however, a lot still has to happen for such a rethinking to work.
The vocational training institutions, the regional employment offices RAV, but also the individual companies are called upon here. Everywhere that is still a dream of the future.