Pandemic accelerating

Pandemic accelerating labour market transformation

By 2025, across 15 industries and 26 economies, there may be 97 million new roles that will be better adapted to the new division of labour between humans, machines, and algorithms, according to data gathered by LinkedIn, Coursera, and the World Economic Forum in the 2020 Future of Jobs Report. However, job disruption will be counterbalanced by job creation in new fields, researchers predict: the jobs of tomorrow.

By Romanita Oprea

Data and AI, product development and cloud computing are some of the emerging professions

"Over the coming decade, a non-negligible share of newly created jobs will be in wholly new occupations or existing occupations undergoing significant transformations in terms of their content and skills requirements," the report reads.

Demand is growing for roles like data analysts and scientists, AI and machine learning specialists, robotics engineers, software and application developers, and digital transformation experts. Some of these emerging professions will be easier to break into than others. These include data and AI, product development, and cloud computing, where transitions "do not require a full skill match between the source and destination occupation," according to the report. But some job clusters of tomorrow remain more "closed off" and tend to recruit people with very specific skillsets. More than 70 percent of those moving into the product development, data and AI clusters come from different job families; but figures for the engineering and people and culture segments are significantly lower, with 19 percent and 26 percent respectively.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND UNLEASHED HUMAN POTENTIAL According to data gathered by Coursera, it's common for individuals moving into data and AI to lack key data science skills, but that it's possible to master those skills, such as statistical programming, within a recommended time frame of around 76 days of learning. The jobs of tomorrow reflect the adoption of new technologies and increasing demand for new products and services.

But they also showcase the continuing importance of human interaction in the new economy through roles in marketing, sales, content production, and other positions that require "soft" communication skills.

At a time when working from home has become a necessity, workers are increasingly looking to learn personal development and self-management skills, Coursera found. Furthermore, tapping into that necessity, universities are opening up their curricula and offering free courses to people who are interested in being better at their jobs, acquiring new skills or even changing their jobs completely to adapt to the new reality.

According to the research, the top skills of 2020 include writing, strategy, mindfulness, meditation, gratitude, kindness, listening, and grammar. This is in clear contrast to the more technical skills that were in focus in 2019, such as Python coding, artificial neural networks, algorithms, regression or deep learning.

RESKILLING AND THE AI REVOLUTION In this context, The World Economic Forum has launched a new initiative, called the Reskilling Revolution, a coordinated multistakeholder effort to provide training and development to reskill 1 billion people by 2030. A third of all global jobs will be transformed by technology over the next 10 years. The United States, France, Russia, India, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Brazil were among the first countries to join the World Economic Forum initiative, whose main purpose is to build social cohesion and

ensure that people have pathways to social mobility. At the same time, the 2020 Global Talent Competitiveness Index shows that to succeed in the age of AI, more investment is needed in skill development and lifelong learning. While emerging markets are lagging far behind talent-rich nations, the gap can be bridged with the right set of policies. “To stay at the forefront of talent development, countries and cities all around the world need to focus on reskilling their workforces to deal with the new environment. They will have to emphasise the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects and embrace lifelong learning. Vocational training will play a vital role in equipping individuals, and the workforce as a whole, with the right capabilities. Governments will need to reduce barriers to and companies to invest into the re-skilling and upskilling of existing workers. Skills development will need to include human-centred skills such as empathy, creativity, imagination, and leadership, as well as fusion skills that will be essential for collaboration between humans and AI machines. In the future, people and technology will combine to create economic prosperity and to that end, we need to prepare our workforces for this new reality,” commented Alain Dehaze, CEO of The Adecco Group.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), real unemployment figures jumped to an average of 6.6 percent in the second quarter of 2020. The OECD predicts that those figures could peak at 12.6 percent by the end of 2020 and could still stand at 8.9 percent by the end of 2021.

An IMF analysis has estimated that 97.3 million individuals, or roughly 15 percent of the workforce in the 35 countries included in its analysis, are classified as being at high risk of being furloughed or made redundant in the current context. At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic has heightened fears that automation will replace people’s jobs. If for some years now companies have been working towards automating repetitive jobs through algorithms that could complete administrative tasks, robots that can streamline manufacturing and drones that can deliver goods, researchers are now backing them up after having found out that this kind of automation is more quickly adopted during economic downturns. All companies are going to make a push towards becoming more digital and therefore more automated.

As seen in the World Economic Forum’s report, eighty-four percent of employers are set to rapidly digitalize their working processes, including a significant expansion of remote work—with the potential

to move 44 percent of their workforce to operate remotely. To address concerns about productivity and well-being, about one-third of all employers expect to also take steps to create a sense of community, connection, and belonging among employees through digital tools and to tackle the well-being challenges posed by the shift to remote work. New data from the Future of Jobs Survey suggests that an average of 15 percent of a company’s workforce is at risk of disruption until 2025, and around 6 percent of workers are expected to be fully displaced.

Among the business leaders surveyed, just over 80 percent reported that they were accelerating automation in their work processes and expanding their use of remote work. A significant 50 percent also indicated that they were set to accelerate job automation in their companies. In addition, more than one-quarter of employers expect to temporarily reduce their workforce, and one in five expect to do so permanently.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) projects that by the second quarter of 2020, the equivalent of 195 million workers will have been displaced and as jobs are transformed at a greater speed. One of the central findings of the 2018 Future of Jobs Report continues to hold—by 2025 the average estimated time spent by humans and machines at work will be at parity based on today's tasks. Algorithms and machines will be primarily focused on data processing and retrieval, administrative tasks, and some aspects of traditional manual labour. The tasks where humans are expected to retain their

comparative advantage include managing, advising, decision-making, reasoning, communicating, and interacting.

Although the most in-demand roles this year are similar to those in the 2018 survey, jobs such as process automation specialists, information security analysts, and Internet of Things specialists are newly emerging among a cohort of roles seeing growing demand from employers. Moreover, a set of roles are distinctively emerging within specific industries, including: materials engineers in the automotive sector, e-commerce and social media specialists in the consumer sector, renewable energy engineers in the energy sector, fintech engineers in financial services, biologists and geneticists in health and healthcare, as well as remote sensing scientists and technicians in mining and metals. The nature of these roles reflects the trajectory of innovation and growth across multiple industries.

Claiming the Purpose Marketing card

Internationally-recognised purpose pioneer Thomas Kolster takes a hatchet to his earlier beliefs and warns brands about purpose in his latest book, “Hero Trap”. “Try to fly like a superman, and you will come down like a tin of soup,” he says. BR talked to several specialists and found out what they thought about purpose marketing and the best ways to win in today’s competitive market.

By Romanita Oprea

Andrei Dumitrascu, Secom

According to Thomas Kolster, most brands today are firmly on the social and environmental issues bandwagon like bees around a honey pot, from ocean plastic to diversity. People are increasingly distrustful towards these efforts, which are viewed as cheap marketing stunts meant to wow people into buying more. Drawing on top-line marketing case studies and in-depth interviews with the likes of P&G’s CMO Marc Pritchard, Kolster demonstrates how people are truly motivated to act when they’re in charge of their own life and happiness. One commissioned study comparing well-known commercials showed that by taking a peoplefirst approach, people were 29.5 percent more motivated to act on the messaging than they were with the traditional purpose approach.

Consumers nowadays are increasingly reluctant to brand messages, as they’ve become irrelevant and superficial, communicating in the same patterns as they did years ago. “To be heard by consumers today, brands must prove a true interest in their needs and lifestyles and bring forward, in a clear sentence, the answer to a basic question: why. Why should I buy you? Have you thought about the purpose your brand should play in my life? If there is no clear purpose in a brand’s mindset, then you are not trustworthy, and you will be ignored,” argues Andrei Dumitrascu, marketing & communication director at Secom, a brand that according to its representatives has a clear mission: to improve people’s quality of life. They have been pursuing this mission for the last 17 years, Sorina Mihai, Porter Novelli

not just through their high-quality products, but also through education, promoting the concept of integrative medicine. “We are constantly listening to our consumers’ needs in terms of a healthy lifestyle and we’re taking actions based on these insights. This is how projects like the Integrative Medicine Clinic or Perspective magazine came to life, that’s why we’re offering specialised consulting in our 13 own stores and last but not least, why we provide the most complex product portfolio on the market. The latest approach of our purpose was done by creating our own brand, Good Routine, built from scratch and animated by our strong know-how of both scientific formulas and consumer needs,” said Dumitrascu. According to Sorina Mihai, managing partner at Porter Novelli Romania,

when we talk about our work, most of us refer to it as our passion – doing what we're passionate about. And she thinks that passion springs from two sources: interest and purpose. While our interests are more selforiented, therefore easier to identify, purpose – our intention and effort to contribute to the well-being of others – is other-centred. “Seeking and finding purpose is not an easy task, but at the other end of our resolution there's always something bigger than ourselves. Ultimately, our efforts pay dividends to other people, to our community. Recent events unfolded a worrisome reality – one that we're all sharing, globally. We can relate to the struggles of people at the other end of the world because we too are going through something similar. We are witnessing the changes and challenges the world is facing and we understand the urgency of putting our resources to good use,” she explains. Therefore, brands and companies are building purpose-centric cultures, a paradigm shift to which Porter Novelli committed from the very beginning. In fact, Porter Novelli is a founding member of the Brands for Good consortium, it has a wide network of sustainability and communications leaders, and brings over 25 years of research and insights about purpose, brand, social impact, and issues. We have a fully-integrated sustainability consultancy and communications practice, allowing us to seamlessly and efficiently service our clients.

Sticking to consultants’ perspectives, Cristina Blanaru, founder at Code Name & AdHugger.net and strategic advisor to international and local companies, said that purpose marketing is just the latest lens being used by companies to reach their customers. It started getting popular after advertisers realised that spending marketing budgets on “noise” was not generating value nor sales in the long term, whilst connecting with audiences on causes both parties believed in was more relevant and powerful. It is also part of a natural evolution of marketing; promoting a product’s virtues was replaced by a focus on the customer’s needs and now, by connecting with the customer’s values in a meaningful way.

“I will not be popular for saying this, but it’s just business. It is all connected. It is all about generating the best ROI and now the consumer wants brands that are purpose-driven. We, as consumers, want to connect on a higher level with the brands and the best way to do so is through emotions and common interests, and purpose provides both. Purpose Marketing is the extension of Content Marketing, and it has the ability to create content that consumers want to spend time on. So the choice is simple: you either have a great backstory you can tell or you have a great purpose, and it’s even better if you have both,” argued Anders Holmberg Lange, gamification strategist, senior marketing advisor, and start-up mentor at Venture Cup Denmark.

But one must wonder: how much of the success comes from purpose marketing versus the recent developments caused by the pandemic, other trends or the normal flow of business? According to Sorina Mihai, the pandemic may have "forced" some brands to shift gears and switch lanes, but it's important to acknowledge that purpose has been at the core of businesses – whether big or small – for a long time now. For decades, passionate teams of people have served as drivers of change and have positively impacted issues such as education, climate change, human rights, public health, and social and racial inequality. “In my opinion, the pandemic created more opportunities for companies to recognise their purpose and publicly commit to it,” she explained.

Moreover, as the Secom representative points out, it is all about common sense – at least it should be so. “When your brand is true to itself in every way, has a clear vision and purpose and all its actions are on the same path, everybody will notice. On the other hand, if you try to have everything by doing everything, then your brand will lose its identity, and therefore its purpose. And everyone will notice that, too. So, when the brand’s look, feel, and discourse are all built around the same purpose, then I believe it would be a good time to claim this,” Andrei Dumitrascu added.

However, Cristina Blanaru is convinced that the pandemic was clearly a catalyst for the rise of purpose marketing. In her point of view, although there have always been companies that had it at the core of their strategies, the pandemic made it clearer that brands that support causes the customers care about are not only doing the right thing, but will also receive the approval of the wider public and, as a consequence, have a higher number of customers. “The pandemic has shown us that the world is unsafe, and we have to change our lifestyles. But it is not telling us that the change has to be towards sustainable living; that is just your mind playing tricks. The sustainability trend we’re seeing is a matter of survival, as the next generation wants children and wants them to be born into a livable world. The big trends are Spaceflight and sustainable living – they are a call for survival. This will not change anytime soon, because it is direly needed. Business will always flow wherever the money and the consumers are, and that is way in which new business models come to light,” stated Anders Holmberg Lange.

Food trends: Romanian farmers’ markets turning into sustainable businesses

One of this year’s defining food trends in Romania is related to the farmers’ market, a popular way to get seasonal fresh food from local producers, but new technologies and investments have changed this game a bit. From online seasonal food shopping to certified products and new high standard places to buy products, this food sector is constantly improving.

By Oana Vasiliu

Food shopping changed radically since the new coronavirus pandemic

With more time at home and a lockdown that kind of forced us to cook – or at least try to –, local products have gained more ground. Both online and offline, people are more concerned about the origin of their food and its production process. Though online food shopping is still quite limited, figures are increasing every year.

After the lockdown, in May, a study commissioned by Upfield – producer of margarine brands Rama and Becel – found that over 40 percent of Romanians had eaten more fruits and vegetables during the pandemic. The isolation measures imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus made Romanians go back into their own kitchens, with 92 percent of respondents saying they preferred home cooking while 20 percent chose to order their meals. The crisis also raised Romanians’ interested in baking bread, cakes, and pies at home (31 percent).

A NEW FARMERS’ MARKET AND OTHER HUGE INVESTMENTS At the beginning of August, the Piata Sudului farmers’ market was reopened, with an impressive facelift which cost EUR 10 million. The new market looks fantastic and has all modern facilities, including air conditioning systems. 80 percent of it is meant to accommodate local producers from nearby farms to sell their produce here, while the cost of renting a booth is the same as it was a year and a half ago, before the refurbishment.

Last month, a new farmers’ market called the Romanians’ Market (Piata Romanilor) opened in Bucharest’s District 2, offering only local, traditional, and certified organic prod-

New Piata Sudului market New market dedicated exclusively to Romanian certified bio products

ucts. “The traditional products are certified by the Agriculture Ministry, while the organic ones are certified by companies authorised by the Ministry, so the state guarantees the quality of the products sold at this market. It is the first such initiative I know of, and I’ve been working in this field for many years,” Marian Cioceanu, the president of the Association of Organic Agriculture Operators in Romania, told us in a Facebook message.

MORE ONLINE BUYING Plenty of fresh food can be bought online, even from the largest retailers in Romania, many of whom have recently launched their own delivery systems or signed partnerships with existing delivery services. People have also organised across several Facebook groups or websites themed around fresh, local food. For example, Taraba Virtuala is an online platform and app connecting local producers with people interested in buying locally. The app is very user-friendly, allowing users to easily locate producers in their area and find a variety of products: baked goods, fruits and vegetables, honey and jams, dairy products, pickles, cold meats, and sweets.

FOOD HUBS BECOME HEALTHY SHOPPING OPTION Since 2017, The Romanian American Foundation (RAF) has been creating food hubs in Romania through a programme they finance themselves. The RAF programme for developing the Food Hub business model began after a working visit to Philadelphia and New York. Together with the Civitas Foundation, they developed five food hubs that connect farmers and small local businesses to urban consumers. The food hubs are located in Bucovina, Cluj, Brasov, Iasi, and Odorheiul Secuiesc and they contribute to maintaining a local agricultural and gastronomic culture, to preserving tradition, reconnecting urban and rural areas, and promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Asked by Business Review about the typical food hub customer, Oleg Moraru, the coordinator of the RAF programme, explained that “most food hub customers are people between 25 and 45 years old and married, especially women. Also, in the last 2 years, some food hubs have managed to develop the B2B sales channel that allows companies with more than 100 employees to contract ‘standard packages’ for employees by offering them gifts for their birthdays or holidays like Christmas, New Year, Easter, Children's Day, etc.”

Even before the pandemic broke out, the share of online orders from these food hubs was quite high, especially in the case of hubs that had assured distribution nationwide and carried out frequent marketing campaigns to promote their products. Since March 2020, when the lockdown was introduced, the number of online applications has increased by over 400 percent, Oleg Moraru added.

Another particularity of these food hubs are the relatively small distances from the points of production because the concept states that all these products should reach customers within a maximum of 24 hours from the time an order is placed. Furthermore, all their commercial activity is taxed, Goodies from one of Romania's food hubs

Ordering groceries online from small farmers are the new big thing

and food hubs products and manufacturers have all the approvals and authorisations required for production and sale. Their main concern is to ensure the rapid distribution of products, the high quality of these products, and a greater diversification to encourage and further increase the trend of ordering online from local products. In addition, they develop various training programmes for local producers in these areas, regardless of whether or not they collaborate with the hubs on the sales side.