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futureofwork@ilo.org

The future of work

The Future of Work initiative was proposed by the ILO Director-General in 2013 as one of the seven centenary initiatives. With the launch of the initiative in 2015 the ILO embarked on a four year journey that began with a series of National Dialogues, followed by the report of an independent Global Commission and culminating in the adoption of the Centenary Declaration on the Future of Work at the 108th International Labour Conference in 2019.

  1. ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work

  2. Global Commission on the Future of Work

News and events

  1. © Gabriella Csapo/ Canva 2023

    Call for Papers

    Youth Employment Research Forum: The dynamics of youth employment and its supporting policy framework

    02 October 2023

  2. © Unsplash/Timor Studler 2023

    Podcast series: Global challenges – Global solutions

    The quest for social justice: The role of research and dialogue

    25 September 2023

  3. © G20 2023

    G20 Leaders’ Summit

    ILO welcomes G20 support for just transition measures

    10 September 2023

  4. © ILO/M. Crozet 2023

    Podcast series: Global challenges – Global solutions

    Working in apparel and footwear manufacturing: How does technological upgrading and automation affect women?

    04 September 2023

List all

108th Session of the International Labour Conference

  1. ILC 2019

    The 108th session of the International Labour Conference marked the 100th anniversary of the ILO and concluded its Future of Work initiative.

  2. Thematic forums

    A series of Thematic Forums provided an opportunity for debate and sharing inspiring, thought-provoking perspectives on the future of the world of work.

  3. Interactive exhibition

    An interactive exhibition space gave delegates the opportunity to engage in different ILO themes.

Innovation for a future of work

The ILO will increase the technical and policy capacity to respond to the transformations taking place in the world of work through innovation initiatives.

  1. Skills Innovation Facility

    The Facility identifies and tests promising and innovative ideas and solutions that address the major skills challenges of today and of tomorrow.

  2. Enterprise Innovation Facility

    The Facility will focus on generating solutions to support sustainable enterprises as promoters of innovation and decent work.

  3. Innovation Facility on climate action for jobs and a just transition

    The Facility will drive the Climate Action for Jobs initiative and focus on generating solutions for a just transition.

  4. Innovation facility on transformative technology for decent work

    The Facility will focus on generating and testing digital technology solutions to promote decent work.

Publications

  1. Issue briefs

    The establishment of the Global Commission on the Future of Work in August 2017 marked the start of the second phase of ILO’s Future of Work Centenary Initiative. 

  2. Research Papers

    The Future of Work Research Paper Series aims to support the work of the Commission by publishing in-depth, original studies on specific topics of interest to the Commission, ranging from explorations of artificial intelligence and the platform economy to lifelong learning and universal social protection.

ILO's Network on Future of Work

  1.

    Online course

    Shaping the Future of Work

    George M. Bunker, Barbara Dyer, Zeynep Ton, Duanyi Yang MIT; Lee Dyer, Cornell University; Christina Obolenskaya, Wellesley College; Paolo Tomassetti, University of Modena

    The goal of this online, free course is to explore and develop plans of action for improving the job and career opportunities for today and tomorrow’s workforce.

  2.

    Paper

    Non-standard forms of employment: Recent trends and future prospects

    Eurofound

    Focusing on the growth of non-standard employment, this paper finds that, apart from part-time work, there has not been an increase in non-standard employment during the last decade.