G7 employment and innovation ministers discuss ways to prepare for jobs of the future

On 27-28 March, G7 Ministers of Employment and Innovation met in Montreal to discuss how the new economy is impacting industries and workers, and what measures governments can take to  support their citizens in the new world of work. Ministers agreed that more efforts are needed to promote gender equality and women empowerment, including in the field of science, technology, engineering, and maths. They also discussed the importance of public-private cooperation in ensuring that the workforce can adapt and transition to the new economy, as well as of investing in digital literacy and designing appropriate social protection systems. The ministers established an Employment Task Force to provide recommendations on these and other issues, and launched a Future of Work Forum (hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) to support the work of the task force. The impact of new digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and big data on society as a whole was also discussed, and ministers underlined the need for human-centric AI developments and for multistakeholder dialogue and cooperation on AI. They also decided to convene a multistakeholder conference on AI, to be held in Canada in the fall of 2018.