Gi Group | The Impact of Digital Transformation on Labor Market and Industries

Dear Members and Friends,

The China-Italy Chamber of Commerce is glad to share an article published by our Member Gi Group:

The digital transformation that we are currently undergoing across the globe, in industries and business, vehicles, educational institutions, our homes and indeed in every aspect of life should come as no surprise to anyone. But there are several features of this transformation that make it a somewhat fearsome adversary: the speed at which it is gathering pace, its pervasiveness into literally all aspects of our work/home lives, the specialised labour gap already digitalised companies face in finding the increasingly specific digital skills they require, the challenge non-digitalised companies face in keeping their operations in alignment with customer demand.

What is happening within our societies directly due to this digital transformation? There is the creation of new roles within existing businesses, the generation of new types of organisations and even the definition of whole new economic sectors. Yet it is not simply direct employment that is so important. The scope of the digital transformation is such that it is able to entirely revolutionise traditional industries and drive employment growth across the wider economy too.

The future of jobs is truly undergoing monumental change.

Technology will create millions of jobs now and in the near future. Job content will undergo enormous changes, as skills demanded by employers will inevitably change. Recent experience teaches us that in a profound way. We are living in a period of weighty labour market transformations, and it is imperative that we replace declining work opportunities with those that are expanding. Digitalisation creates both entirely new occupations and redefined jobs.

Both policymakers and businesses can and need to adapt to these trends. Digital technology modifies job content as the skills required by employers change. Increased automation is leading to the transformation of the job market, and real-time data collection, processing and analytics combined with machine learning and AI needs a workforce competent in analytics and digital skills. Whilst we are witnessing an increased usage of AI to replace “human” work, computers are still poor at simulating human interaction and reasoning. “Unforeseen scenarios” represent a large stumbling block for any kind of automation.

So we are seeing an increase in jobs that demand unique human skills; cognitive and social tasks, digital tools, teamwork and autonomous decisionmaking. We still need people - but differently.

New managers with new skills are leading their teams by digital means. This signifies empowering people via a “recipe”, a combination of skills, which allows team players to succeed in the digital world.

The specific technical digital competencies are evidently of paramount importance as the boundaries on digital operations are constantly pushed further and further, a range of soft skills will prove vital to the well-being of the companies and the self-fulfilment of the workers themselves. Whilst there is a range of indispensable soft skills for every worker within a company environment (including, but not limited to, collaboration, eye-for-detail, interpersonal, communication, time-management, organisation, flexibility, emotional, problem-solving, respect and empathy, trustworthiness and emotional), there is also an absolute need for some additional soft skills for the future digital worker. These include data analysis, data-driven decision making, curiosity and creativity, adaptability and learnability, critical thinking, complex problem-solving to name but a few. Each and every company will have its own set of specific requirements, and matching skill sets and needs is a fine tuned task.

And yet there is even more to think about, considering the scenario shift that the Covid-19 pandemic caused. What would probably have happened anyway in years, happened in just months. Think remote-management, remoteworking, remote schooling and training, E-medicine, QR code adoption, and a whole host of other E-facilities that have become commonplace over the course of the pandemic. For businesses, the pandemic directly accelerated the speed of work and encouraged companies in the adoption of cloud-based solutions and remote work solutions. It also forced many businesses to find solutions that improved not only the customer experience, but also the worker experience.

It is crystal clear at this point that businesses need to fill their role requirements with the appropriate individuals in possession of both of the key skills that they require and the mindsets that forward-thinking businesses prioritise. Companies need the right people in the right place today, which is sowing the seeds for a company to greet an increasingly digitalised future with a valid team of players, to take on whatever the future may have in store for us. To date, the world has not disappointed us regarding surprises, and we have no doubt that it will continue to not disappoint in the future too.

Gi Group

Gi Group is one of the world’s leading companies providing services for the development of the labour market. The Group is active in the fields of temporary and permanent staffing, search and selection, HR consulting and training, as well as in a variety of complementary activities.