Dignified Work for Everyone. Impact of the Digital Transformation

Alejandra Gail
Manager of the Consultancy Pro Bono Programme Accenture Foundation

To look for solutions for working poverty and long-term unemployment in Spain is the objective of the Together for Employment of the Most Vulnerable initiative coordinated by the Accenture Foundation.

The arrival of digital technologies is just the beginning, digitalization goes beyond this; it is a complete transformation, a transformation in the way of working, in the things that are done and in the way of interacting with one another.

Together for Employment arises in 2013 in the middle of the economic crisis, with the social entities overwhelmed before the number of people that would call their employment services and the shortage of resources. The objective of the initiative is to unite the different actors (public administrations, businesses and the social entities themselves) in order to be able to identify together, the problems to tackle and deal with a co-creation of initiatives to facilitate these people to get a job or keep it in the digital era. At present more than 1,000 social organisations, 77 businesses and business foundations and 17 public administrations have come together.

In Spain there are four million people who are unemployed or in a situation of working poverty who, despite being in search of employment, have it very difficult to find one or, if they have managed to do so, do not earn enough money to live off of. Another thing they have weighing on their shoulders, in addition to the load of digitalization, is that reality: full of opportunities for many and of fears for others.

The data derives from the Study on Especially Vulnerable Population in the face of Employment in Spain carried out by Accenture and Fedea (Foundation for Applied Economic Studies) in collaboration with various social entities.

It is important to create links between those in search of employment and those which are hiring. Thus, 22 digital solutions, which the social entities can access free of charge via a platform in the Accenture Cloud have been brought to life.

Among these, the Emplea+ solution, through two tools allows to pinpoint the employability rate of those seeking work (that is, their skills and barriers) and marks out their work plan and trains the job seeker in the competencies most highly demanded by businesses. It also offers training material to follow online or in person, covering the different levels of competence development.

Among the most-used solutions is also the Employment Observatory, which provides a photo in high definition of the professions in which these people could be employed on a short and medium-term basis and the competencies that they must have to make it easier to get a job.

In this regard, and in the face of new technologies breaking into all areas of society, it has been recognised the need to better understand the changes that people in a situation of special vulnerability, before employment, at the time of accessing this new labour market are experiencing. This is why Accenture, in collaboration with the entities that take part in Together for Employment of the Most Vulnerable, has carried out the study, The Impact of the Digital Transformation on Vulnerable Groups A new way of working, in which how digitalization is changing the 26 job positions where these groups can find work is analysed for the first time. This adaptation of the job positions to a new reality will imply:

• New understandings and skills
• Change of behaviours and job positions
• New technological devices
• New/transformed services and products

Alongside this published analysis and in order to be able to align training material for Emplea+, the training solution for employment of Together for Employment, the existing dictionary of competencies has been revised in order to add the digital dimension and the creation of the new basic competence “Be digital�, as the ability of showing an open mind to the digital transformation and experience, with a receptive attitude to the change and a collaborative and responsible approach to the online world and new technologies. Additionally, 21 digital know-hows necessary for the development of skills of the most highly-demanded positions have been identified, according to the report published. Some examples would be those related to smartphones, internet searches, correct communication on social networks, internet security, etc.

Accenture, in collaboration with the entities that take part in Together for Employment of the Most Vulnerable, has carried out the study, The Impact of the Digital Transformation on Vulnerable Groups A new way of working, in which how digitalization is changing the 26 job positions where these groups can find work is analysed for the first time.

We have also developed a virtual reality tool whose objective is to simulate real contexts of new situations which the person may deal with, while carrying out their work as a result of the digitalization of certain functions. In this way we have simulated different scenarios for cleaning agents which must work with home automation control panels or mobile digital devices, and digital scenarios for the hospitality industry in order to work efficiently on the competence of customer service.

Proyecto Hombre has been using the method and training of Emplea+ for several years, in order to improve the employability of the people who attend it. Over the last year it has put a special focus on the digital competence, which is necessary for the future labour market.