They are quickly losing their specialization advantage as the labor market changes at high speed
Rula Salourou
The World Bank is sounding the alarm about the consequences of technological development on technologically educated workers if global policymakers do not pursue more equitable development. The World Bank's report, “Impacts for Equality and Growth in Europe”, presented yesterday at an event on “The Future of Work” jointly organized by IOBE, is revealing as it demonstrates that innovation and new technologies have while boosting productivity in Europe, they increase income inequality. This is because spectacular technological advances have fueled market concentration, reducing the share of total national income that goes to work.
In this context, according to the World Bank, vocational education graduates do not have the skills to take advantage of technological changes. They may initially find employment compared to their peers with a general secondary degree, but within five to seven years of entering the workforce they lose this advantage as the labor market changes rapidly and the demand for new skills is continuous. This results in vocational education and training graduates engaging in manual work and at a higher risk of being displaced from the labor market by automation. In contrast to university graduates, as companies incorporating new technologies reduce the intensity of traditional manual tasks and move to hire workers with university degrees.
The report examines the relationship between technology, economic growth and equality . He points out that the decline of middle-class jobs in European countries over the past 40 years has led to increasing income inequality and political polarization.
And he calls Europe's effort to ensure that new technologies will not further exacerbate these trends and contribute to more equitable development. Small businesses in the EU are also considered “losers”. as they are slow to adopt new technologies, unlike larger, more productive companies and those with better managers.
