Back to the future (of work)

Given the broad work of YMCA and the ever-increasing remit of the policy and research team, it can be easy for advocacy work to become a ‘fire fighting’ exercise.

In such instances the immediate need of responding to the latest in the long line of policy announcements that have the potential to negatively impact the lives of young people takes precedence, and more proactive work is deprioritised.

Participating in the European Youth Forum’s Expert Group on the Future of Work’s most recent meeting in Brussels afforded me the opportunity to look beyond the immediate need and examine what can be proactively done to help shape the working environment for young people.

Crucially, this is not merely a discussion about ‘robots taking our jobs’; it is a discussion about the world we want to live in and the basic human rights that are important to us.

Saying that, after two days of intensive meetings I’m afraid to say that the future of work is no clearer and if someone was to ask what it will look like, it’s safe to say that I would still not be able to give a concrete answer.

Needless to say, however, that I am not alone and experts around the world are divided on what comes next.

While reassuring that it’s not just me, this uncertainty does bring challenges. But, ever the optimist, with challenge comes opportunity and all that!

That opportunity is the chance to challenge the status quo. A status quo that so often ignores the needs and wants of young people in favour of their older counterparts.

I, along with the rest of the Expert Group are hoping to challenge this status quo, by lobbying for, and advocating with young people to make sure that their needs are put at the forefront of any decisions on the future of work.

‘The future of work’ seems an abstract concept, and to some extent it is. However, speaking to young people reveals that the effects of changing job markets are already being felt as young people struggle to navigate the so called ‘gig economy’.

As such, the discussions of the group focused around the role of big data and the implications for young people’s privacy, universal basic income as a means by which young people can be offered the protections they need, the impact of technology and robots on job creation and retention, and how to ensure that the future of work will truly work for everyone.

Our challenge now is how we make such changes work to our advantage and help secure young people are best equipped to reach their full potential.

It is this that I, as part of the Expert Group on the Future of Work, will continue to examine over the coming year and feed into the European Youth Forum’s Board Position Paper expected in September next year.