What is this about
In this video we zoom out to look at the macro level: global workforce trends. The speaker is a Human Resources specialist called Rainer Strack. Rainer’s speciality is to help business to think about emerging trends.

How is this different
I have chosen this video because we often think about work at the individual level. We focus on CVs, our appraisals and job hunting skills. We often forget about larger scale developments, so much so it could be called a blind spot. While these big trends may feel invisible, they have a real and lasting impact on what happens in our day to day work. They are worth considering in more depth.

How it can help
Rainer is talking from a HR perspective and therefore looks at what business can do to attract employees, but there is plenty of insight for employees themselves. Rainer helps us as employees to keep an eye on workforce trends as we are developing our one, three, five or even ten year plan. As we are thinking about where we want to be, Rainer helps us to see how trends may impact positively or negatively on our ability to achieve these goals. What I see as Reiner’s top trends are highlighted below. Draw your own conclusions.

1. Labour shortages in specific sectors
2. Labour surpluses in specific sectors
3. Distribution of shortages/surpluses across countries
4. Skills missmatch -especially for high skilled workers
5. Impact of automation- replacing and creating jobs

Enjoy!