Information Society is now an opportunity, not a threat

It is hard to believe today, when the lust for dot com ventures appears almost insatiable, but in the early 1990s when Europe's unemployment rate was worryingly high, the Information Society was regarded as a threat to jobs. Most of Europe is currently enjoying a period of su...

It is hard to believe today, when the lust for dot com ventures appears almost insatiable, but in the early 1990s when Europe's unemployment rate was worryingly high, the Information Society was regarded as a threat to jobs.

Most of Europe is currently enjoying a period of sustained economic growth, and the new networked economy is now seen as an important source of employment opportunities. However new dilemmas are emerging as Europe seeks to take advantage of the situation, including an increasing skills shortage in the places enjoying the best economic growth, a lack of investment in information and communications technologies (ICTs), and problems regarding social exclusion.

These issues need to be tackled together by the public and private sectors if Europe is to compete with the USA and even rising Asian countries, concluded delegates at a recent conference on 'New Jobs and the Information Society', organised by ALTA, the Association Luxembourgeoise des Téléactivités.

Their message was entrusted to François Biltgen, the Luxembourg Minister for Employment and Communication, to take to the special meeting of the European Council on employment, economic reform and social cohesion, being held in Lisbon on 23 and 24 March 2000.

'We need to know how to draw advantage from the current economic situation to adapt to the new reality,' said the minister from Luxembourg.

'It is an important priority to examine the links between jobs and the Information Society, and the problems that might arise regarding possible social exclusion and the much-cited skills gap.

'Today we know we have to continue recruiting outside of Europe in the talent pools of Asia to fill highly skilled positions, but it is important to start launching training programmes in order to close the skills gap.'

Mr Biltgen also warned of the need to ensure that the fast development of the Information Society is managed correctly. 'We should encourage the creation of new jobs, but at the same time make sure that the necessary legal basis exists at European level. For example, teleworking [working often at a distance through the use of ICTs] should not make employment more insecure - the jobs should be of a high quality.'

ALTA Secretary General Norbert Rischette said he hoped the conference's resolution would ignite political action in Lisbon, as he claimed the previous ALTA conference on teleworking did four years ago.

'People distrusted teleworking four years ago, but now it is at the top of the political agenda. We hope this conference will keep the momentum going,' he said.

'To ensure the creation of jobs in the Information Society requires certain infrastructures, and the creation of these services will require financing from both the public and the private sector.

'Political action on the European level has been encouraging, with the recent strategy for jobs in the Information Society, the eEurope initiative and so on. Now what is required is political action at the Member State level.'

Mr Rischette said he hoped that by bringing together competitors such as Nokia, IBM-Lotus and Siemens at the event, the private sector would also develop in the right direction.

'Industry needs to take a long term perspective,' he said. 'They know how to cut jobs, we want to show them how to create jobs.'

Veli-Pekka Niitamo, Director of Global Resourcing at Nokia, said the skills shortage was the most challenging area for Europe to address. He said Nokia has to import labour from India and China to fill the technological skills gap, and was dissuaded from investing in countries such as Italy which put restrictions on employing non-EU nationals.

Mr Niitamo said Nokia had invested in training programmes, and projects matching skills to jobs. However he was challenged by Peter Johnston of the European Commission's Information Society Directorate General who said large companies such as Nokia could do more to train their staff themselves, rather than relying on the public sector.

Gavin Lennox, director for e-business with IBM-Lotus, said his company looked for the ability to adapt quickly to changing situations, rather than a ready packaged set of skills, which he said can become quickly outdated.

'We are in a world where the technology is developing at a faster rate than the rate at which people can adapt to it. What we look for is people who are able to deal with vast quantities of knowledge as well as their ability to manage that knowledge and keep pace.'

The social aspects of the Information Society were also discussed, in particular the need to ensure those on the margins of society are not left behind.

Horace Mitchell, Director of European Telework Online, who moderated the opening session, said the Information Society should be made attractive to young people, who would then be inspired to develop the necessary skills, providing the right support mechanisms are in place.

'The Internet is attractive to young people and could become just like music or boxing has been in the past - a way of pulling people out of poverty. Young people must be allowed access to these new technologies, and the opportunity to develop the right skills. Government and industry can also do a great deal to make the Information Society attractive to them.'

Mr Mitchell pointed out that each unfilled IT job represents a constraint on growth, and the ability to fill these jobs is worsening as the skills gap increases. 'We must make sure we do not lag behind, and that we take advantage of the opportunities, which requires investing in education, training and ICT development,' he said. The USA currently spends twice as much per capita on ICTs compared with Europe, and this gap will widen as it becomes more difficult to find the necessary skills to exploit e-business and other technologies.

Peter Johnston, head of the 'new methods of work' unit of the Information Society DG, who chaired the concluding session, said it was interesting how the debate has moved on from one of fear to one of optimism since the last ALTA conference four years ago, entitled 'Telework: Threat or Opportunity for Europe'.

'It is not about how can we keep these jobs and protect the old industry any more. It is now about creating new jobs for Europe,' he said.

Kraje

Luxembourg