ILO Senior Researcher Pawel Gmyrek joins Manjula Selvarajah, technology columnist and host at CBC Radio One (Canada), to unpack the findings of a new ILO Working Paper on generative AI and jobs. The conversation explores how GenAI is transforming the world of work, the methodology behind the ILO’s refined global exposure index, and what policymakers, workers, and employers should keep in mind as the technology evolves. 🔗 Read the full paper: https://www.ilo.org/publications/generative-ai-and-jo...
Jun 29, 2025•25 min
What happens when algorithms — not people — decide who gets hired, promoted, or assigned the night shift? In this debut episode of Work in Progress, Alessandro from the ILO Research Department speaks with Nikolai Rogovsky, Senior Economist at the ILO, about how artificial intelligence is transforming human resource management — and what it means for fairness, dignity, and the future of work. With nearly 30 years at the ILO and a PhD from Wharton, Nikolai unpacks insights from ILO Working Paper N...
May 26, 2025•13 min
Things should be looking good for young people in the world of work, but they’re not. While unemployment among young workers between 15 and 24 has recovered from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, there’s a growing epidemic of unhappiness among those workers in both the developed and now the developing world. So, what is to be done? This podcast asks David Blanchflower, a professor at Dartmouth College, renowned labour economist and recognized expert on youth employment, what can be done.
May 12, 2025•18 min
In the past half decade, the world of work has faced unprecedented challenges in the form of a global pandemic, social, political and economic crises, the explosive growth of Artificial Intelligence, and an increase in destructive climate events, among others. Meeting these challenges will require policies that support SDG 8 on decent jobs and economic growth and help advance the broader objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. So how do we address these policy and macroeconomi...
Apr 05, 2025•26 min
Campaña para promover la formalización y el reconocimiento social de las trabajadoras del hogar en el Perú
Mar 31, 2025•27 sec
Campaña para promover la formalización y el reconocimiento social de las trabajadoras del hogar en el Perú
Mar 31, 2025•34 sec
Campaña para promover la formalización y el reconocimiento social de las trabajadoras del hogar en el Perú
Mar 31, 2025•29 sec
Can Nature-based Solutions help us address environmental challenges, while laying the groundwork for creating millions of new jobs? A report by the ILO, the UN Environment Programme and the International Union for Conservation of Nature titled “Decent Work in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) says NbS has the potential to add up to 32 million jobs by 2030 to the already more than 60 million working to protect, and restore and sustainably use natural resources with the greatest gains in Africa, Latin ...
Mar 11, 2025•22 min
Good employment policies underpin efforts to create more and better jobs, and help reduce inequalities and poverty, and empower people, especially women, young people and the most vulnerable such as people with disabilities. What is more, these polices also help address decent work deficits and are critically important to the realization of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 8, on promoting sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all...
Feb 26, 2025•19 min
Amid rising labour shortages and employers around the world struggling to find skilled workers, labour migration, if managed properly, can help widen the pool of available skills. But the complex issue of increasing migration and the skills challenges faced by migrant workers and employers is huge. So how can we help migrant workers acquire the skills they need to find decent jobs, and employers find the skilled migrant workers they need for their enterprises? And what is the ILO doing to addres...
Dec 12, 2024•22 min
Productivity growth is seen as central to economic development and social progress and drives up wages, living standards for workers and the competitiveness of businesses. So, how are different regions and countries increasing productivity, and can it be done in an inclusive way? In this podcast Professor Gaaitzen De Vries in the Department of Global Economics and Management of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and Luca Fedi, Employment specialist of the ILO Productivity Ecosystems...
Nov 20, 2024•20 min
The number of ageing workers in the workforce is growing. People are working longer, either because they want to, they need to to make ends meet or have because they have unique skills. So, what are the implications of this trend for the trade union movement? What does it mean for older workers and their representatives? And how can trade unions address the multiple challenges that are emerging as the workforce ages? In this podcast we explore these trends with Plamen Dimitrov, President of the ...
Sep 29, 2024•18 min
There’s a new trend in the world of work…the growth of an ageing workforce. It’s called the “Silver Tsunami’, and it means more people are working past retirement age, either because they want to or because they must, to make ends meet. So, what are the implications of this trend? What does it mean for retirement plans and social security? And what does it mean for employers and enterprises faced with an ageing workforce? In this podcast we’ll be talking two experts on ageing in the workplace: R...
Jun 17, 2024•20 min
An explosion of online and micro-credential programmes since COVID-19 highlights the importance of lifelong learning to upskilling, reskilling and economic recovery. While these learning courses may help successfully train and equip large numbers of workers with the skills needed for the jobs of the future, they also raise several questions. In this podcast we explore the future of micro-credentialing with two experts on learning and skills development, Pedro Moreno Da Fonseca, ILO Technical Spe...
May 12, 2024•24 min
The world of work is being buffeted by a torrent of change, with multiple crises raising the magnitude and complexity of employment challenges to unprecedented levels. Labour markets have been hit by disruptive mega-trends that weren’t on our radar just a decade ago. These range from challenges we already know like gender disparities, informality and youth unemployment, to new and emerging issues, like climate change, increasing digitalization and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. So ho...
Apr 10, 2024•16 min
In the world of work, men and women are often segregated by their type of work, one of the main reasons women suffered more job losses during the COVID-19 crisis than men and are facing a slower recovery. Now, a joint programme of UN Women and the ILO has developed a new tool to help policymakers rethink the design of sectoral policies and make informed decisions on where to invest to have a greater impact on gender equality. In this podcast Valeria Esquivel, Employment Policies and Gender Speci...
Mar 05, 2024•13 min
During the COVID-19 pandemic, global demand for rubber gloves soared, prompting the Malaysian rubber industry to increase production in the face of labour shortages. Forced labour reports led, among other things, to the United States seizing and holding the goods of seven Malaysian companies. In response, the sector adopted a zero recruitment fee model and reimbursed migrant workers, making significant progress in combating forced labour in just four years. This podcast episode takes an in-depth...
Mar 01, 2024•53 min
In a world with high rates of unemployment and underemployment, more and more people are looking for work amidst rapid change that is increasing skills mismatches and shortages. Millions of young people in the developing world acquire skills through apprenticeships in the informal economy. In many countries they greatly outnumber youth acquiring skills through formal technical and vocational education and training. A new ILO labour standard on quality apprenticeships has focused attention on the...
Feb 12, 2024•21 min
In just three years Namibia has become a world leader when it comes to tackling forced labour in fishing. What’s more, Namibia now coordinates labour and environmental inspections of vessels. Namibia’s experience shows that environmental degradation and forced labour in fishing are no longer hidden and can be addressed cost-effectively at the same time. In this special episode we interview three forced labour experts to find out how Namibia has made so much progress in such a short amount of tim...
Feb 05, 2024•51 min
The world of work is undergoing profound change. These changes are creating skills gaps, mismatches and shortages that are resulting in unfilled jobs and lost productivity. So how do we close this skills gap? In search of an answer, the ILO has adopted a sweeping new international labour standard focused on updating its approach to skills and quality apprenticeships. The new “Recommendation on Quality Apprenticeships, No. 208” is designed to help workers and employers find ways to skill, reskill...
Jan 17, 2024•24 min
Are we smart enough to manage the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the world of work? It seems there are rising concerns over whether AI is a "threat or a promise”. Is this concern warranted? To answer the question, we interviewed Uma Rani, a Senior Economist at the ILO’s Research Department, and Enrique Fernandez Macias, a researcher at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. They explore what kind of research and policies do we need to better assess the impact of AI on such issues...
Nov 19, 2023•29 min
The world is facing a host of challenges causing sluggish employment growth in some societies. The COVID pandemic hasn’t helped, weakening, and even in some cases reversing hard won gains in employment, with devastating economic impact. One key problem is what a recent ILO report sees as a lack of what it calls “structural transformation”. In this podcast, Bernd Mueller, Manager of the Employment Programme at the International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin, Italy, and co-author of the ILO’...
Oct 16, 2023•18 min
Advancing social justice is an idea that’s getting new attention these days. One of the main areas where the need for social justice is growing as something people want is the world of work. Achieving that will be a tall order, given that more and more people are looking for jobs and more and more jobs looking for people to fill them. In this challenging environment, what role can research and dialogue play? This podcast asks two top experts, Sangheon Lee, Director of the ILO’s Employment Policy...
Sep 25, 2023•22 min
The workforce in the clothing and footwear manufacturing sector is often predominantly made up of female workers. Though these jobs require a high degree of skills, they are often underpaid, insecure and characterized by an uncertain future, in particular because of the risk of being replaced by automated equipment. So, how are women in the apparel and footwear manufacturing sectors affected by automation and technological upgrading? And do these factors favour men over women? In this podcast we...
Sep 04, 2023•14 min
In a world facing growing uncertainty, multiple transformative changes are buffeting the world of work. Will these changes mean people and countries are being left behind, or provide opportunities for a new approach to employment policies that can improve people’s livelihoods, and make economies grow sustainably and produce decent and productive jobs? In this podcast we ask two experts from the ILO’s Employment Policy, Job Creation and Livelihoods Department, Sher Verick and Elina Scheja how the...
Jun 21, 2023•18 min
Technology has made enormous strides over the past few decades, improving many people’s lives, and creating incredible economic, scientific, and medical breakthroughs. For some, it has been “the great equalizer”. But others are being left behind in a widening social and economic divide. How can we resolve this paradox in the future of work? In this episode, we’ll examine this question with ILO Employment Policy Department Senior Economist Dorothea Schmidt-Klau and recall some of the key observat...
Mar 30, 2023•22 min
Go green has become the new mantra of our times. To mitigate the impact of climate change, we’re moving fast in new directions that promise to usher in a new green and digital transformation aimed at addressing climate issues that reach well beyond the world of work. There’s an urgency to do this: as the world heats up, we’re running out of time. In this podcast, Moustapha Kamal Gueye, ILO Director of the Priority Action Programme on Just Transitions Towards Environmentally Sustainable Economies...
Mar 15, 2023•13 min
A host of disruptive trends – ranging from public health crises, to accelerated automation, digitalization, and climate change – are putting labour markets under stress. New realities require new kinds of skills and re-skilling to help workers stay employed, and enterprises stay competitive. Career guidance has emerged as a critical element in both recovery plans and forward-looking strategies for navigating through such disruptions. In this episode, Pedro Moreno da Fonseca, ILO Technical Specia...
Feb 15, 2023•20 min
This episode introduces the listener to free tools and resources that help SMEs on their journey to end forced labour. The tools and resources covered are particularly relevant to the SME context and help to implement fair recruitment, find and contact relevant organizations to partner with, access up to date, credible and relevant information, and more. In addition to our network coordinator, Laura Greene, this episode features short interviews with two experts: - Alice Pease, Manager at ILO GB...
Feb 02, 2023•18 min
Today, our world is facing an unprecedented number of challenges: climate and demographic change, COVID-19, and a lack of decent work and social security, among others. Poverty, inequality, and hunger are on the rise. So, what can we do to shift gears and start moving forward again? A new initiative has been launched by the UN Secretary General with ILO coordinating support to address these challenges. The Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions aims to increase the...
Jan 12, 2023•23 min
