The Economist on Work–The Great Mismatch

I’m a bit late in flagging this insightful report on work from the Economist.  Their issue for week ending 16th September includes a must-read Special Report on The Future of Jobs: The Great Mismatch.

The report covers a lot of ground, looking at all aspects of the changing nature of work across the globe – from the perspectives of the individual, the employer and policy-makers – including:

• the growth in freelancing, part-time and flexible working models
• the globalisation of the work-force and market
• the increasing ranks of long-term unemployed vs. a persistent talent gap for required skills
• the role of policy-makers and the dangers of incomplete or narrow policy measures (for example, Spain’s challenges arising from rightly introducing more flexible employment laws for the young whilst allowing older, incumbent workers to maintain their more protective rights).

The report also refers back to Lynda Gratton’s excellent book, The Shift.

The leading article – addressing high unemployment and the shortage of skills – is here.  Following reports are linked from this page.