Recent technological advances are strongly impacting the way in which the economy and society demand products and services from companies. But at the same time, it allows firms to improve the efficiency of existing work processes and to define and implement new, previously unconsidered work processes in response to this new production-demand scenario.

(i) On the one hand, companies are exposed to continuously develop new products and integrate consumer or user feedback into the design of their offer. The evaluation and selection of suppliers and even people for the job is more flexible than before. Thus the composition of teams and the supply chain changes more frequently.

This disruptive model is driving networked forms of trade and business, often delocalised, through networked interactions between suppliers, customers and producers.

By being able to choose from more suppliers and people for the work, the contracting company benefits, both in terms of cost negotiation and accessible skills base. This benefit has an important downside: the work process becomes more complex and unforeseen situations increase. Let us remember that this is a scenario where customer feedback and relevance have become central; therefore, companies must foresee strategies and processes to deal with the unforeseen events generated by a more complex supply and production scenario.

(ii) This brings us to a second factor that needs to be modified: the old pyramidal organisational structures, as they do not respond in time and with the levels of innovation that a market increasingly involved in product definition demands. In order to deal with unforeseen events with suppliers, workers and customers, it will be key to have working structures based on multifunctional teams whose members complement each other. Decision-making capacity will be more distributed and will not be able to wait to move up and down the pyramid.

Within this framework, companies are redefining themselves and consequently the skills needed for employability in companies: the demand for less advanced and substitutable skills, thanks to automation, is falling. While the demand for soft skills, such as those linked to complex problem solving (cognitive), teamwork (socio-behavioural) and those linked to adaptability, is increasing in both emerging and advanced countries. It is no longer just old jobs that are being replaced by new ones, but it is the skills of workers that are changing at the same time.

These skills, along with critical analysis and creative skills, are also key to lifelong learning processes. A move towards more productive and competitive enterprises and economies therefore requires a strong investment in the development of these skills and their effective integration into labour competencies both in training processes for young people and in lifelong learning strategies including upskilling and reskilling.

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