In this hybrid research seminar on Thursday 6th February 2025 at 12:00-13:00 CET, Anna Salomons - Professor of Labor Economics, Tilburg University and Professor of Employment & Inequality, Utrecht University - will present her research titled "Expertise at Work: New Technologies, New Skills, and Worker Impacts".
Abstract:
We study how new digital technology reshapes vocational training and skill acquisition and its impact on workers' careers. We construct a novel database of legally binding training curricula and changes therein, spanning the near universe of vocational training in Germany over five decades, and link curriculum updates to breakthrough technologies using Natural Language Processing techniques. Our findings reveal that technological advances drive training updates, with curriculum content evolving towards greater use of digital and social skills, and less routine intensive tasks, mostly through new skill emergence. Using administrative employer-employee data, we show that educational updates help workers adapt to new demands for their expertise, and earn higher wages compared to workers with outdated skills. By contrast, occupational incumbents face skill obsolescence. These worker impacts are accompanied by increased technology adoption for firms exposed to workers with updated skills. Our findings highlight the role of changes in within-occupational skill supply in meeting evolving labor market demands for non-college educated workers.
The zoom link to join the seminar online can be found here. This event is open to the public. All who are interested to this topic are very welcome to join the seminar. After the presentation there will be time for questions and discussion.
For any queries related to our UNU-MERIT Seminar Series, please contact Sneha Marydas and Cecilia Seri by sending an email to seminars@merit.unu.edu.