Defining the future of work for New Zealanders

A new publication launched today looks at the big trends that are changing the future of work, and aims to help people take control of their working lives.

Work Trends sets out these medium and longer-term trends in an accessible way for those who advise students, employees and job seekers, employers and government. The audience it’s written for includes careers and human resource advisers, work brokers and those involved in planning or giving advice.

Social Development and Employment Minister Steve Maharey said New Zealand has come out of a twenty-year period of dramatic change in the economy and labour market.

“Few New Zealanders will be left untouched by future changes to our workforce, workplaces and economy.

“What will happen in a New Zealand for instance that has an older and more ethnically diverse workforce, with an economy fuelled by increasing taste for customised service?

“No one has a crystal ball to give predictions. But knowing about the trends that Work Trends discusses helps us control and plan for change,” Steve Maharey said.

In addition to launching Work Trends, Steve Maharey also announced today funding for six new research projects to help advance what New Zealanders know about the future of work.

These projects form part of the Department of Labour’s Future of Work programme. The programme provides research and information to help New Zealanders plan for the future - whether they’re an employer, a worker or someone looking to enter the workforce.

“The research from these projects will ensure we can understand and act on emerging trends, rather than just passively let change happen to us,” Steve Maharey said.

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