The ILO calls for a human-centred agenda for future of work that places people and the work they do at the centre of economic, social policy and business practice, according to its Deputy Director-General for Management and Reform, Greg Vines.

This human-centred agenda is part of the report by the ILO's Global Commission on the Future of Work, released earlier this year. “The agenda highlights three important pillars of action focusing on the increase investment in people’s capabilities, in the institutions of work and in decent and sustainable work,” explained Vines at the plenary session of the Indonesia Development Forum (IDF) 2019 held in Jakarta from 22-23 July 2019.

Vines spoke at the IDF—Mission Possible: Seizing the Opportunities of Future of Work to Drive Inclusive Growth, one of the largest national development forums which invites key policy makers, private sectors, academics, unions and training institutions from global and national spectrum to share analysis and look for solutions in the changing world of work.

Vines discussed about the challenges on youth employment and the future of work. Youth is still facing a significant skills mismatch, particularly at the vocational education and training institutions and the youth unemployment rate is 5 to 6 times greater than adults.

“Youth employment remains a global challenge and a top policy concern. Therefore, the ILO will continue to work at the global and national levels to reduce the skills mismatch among the youth,” Vines stated.

He also addressed issues related to fast changing work of work due to technology advancement and ongoing industrial revolution 4.0. However, he reminded the participants of the plenary session that the ongoing discussions about automation and future of work mostly focus on the risks but not on the opportunities.

“Automation is also a way to increase the productivity. There are numerous opportunities that the technology has brought to us. However, we need to ensure proper agreements and regulations to protect the world of work,” he said.

He concluded the plenary with the notion that the future of work can and must be an outcome of our own actions, of human interventions. “Countless opportunities lie ahead, yet we have to shift our thinking by looking at the future of work from the perspective of people, not from the perspective of technology. For the current programmes, we need to protect workers going to the future and for the future we need to identify shortcomings that can create inequalities and address employment challenges with regulations in place.”