What is the future of work for young people? On Friday 11 May, YouthProAktiv joined a debate on this important topic. It was part of the Next Generation, Please! festival held at BOZAR Brussels and supported by a number of bodies including the European Commission, exploring a number of relevant topics through debates, performances, exhibitions and installations for and by young people.

The Future of Work debate we joined was hosted by professor Karel Van Damme from KU Leuven and featured speakers Catarina Bustorff, president of European Youth Parliament Belgium and university student; Hannelore Goeman, member of Committees of Economic Affairs and Work at the Parliament of Brussels-Capital Region; Tom Mentens, HR Quality Manager at Deloitte Belgium; and Kris Van Den Bossche, an education expert. Furthermore, Marianne Thyssen, EC Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, shared a pre-recorded message for the audience. The diverse group of people allowed us to explore different points of view and different sub-topics through panel conversations and questions from the audience.

“We must be creative, innovative and entrepreneurial,” Commissioner Thyssen stressed in her video message. She addressed a number of topics, such as advantages and disadvantages of digitalisation and flexible working arrangements, EC-developed tools for job hunting such as Europass and the online platform EURES, and the drive of the Commission to keep supporting the development of transversal and entrepreneurial skills, which will remain key.

Digitalisation and the question of whether robots will replace humans in most jobs was discussed. In Tom Mentens’s work, software is used more and more to take over some manual work. For example, young people these days are not interested in repetitive administrative work; they want to do something more analytical, more complex, or provide service to people, and progress. Ms Goeman agreed that there will be various repetitive tasks that could be taken over by technology, which is a good thing, but she highlighted the wider need for the right support from the government, such as through appropriate social rights and taxation measures and education that is, unlike at present, “up to speed with the current labour market” and that goes beyond the first stages of life and supports lifelong learning. At the same time, she emphasised that not everybody has to go to a university, it is perfectly fine to enjoy more practical, manual work, and these jobs are very valuable and need to be protected too.

Ms Bustorff, still a student herself, remarked that a lot of young people are not sure what job they want or what they want to study, to which Mr Van Den Bossche reacted that the education system needs to be changed – it is not only not motivating enough, but after 12–15 years in education, young people often still do not know what they are good at or what they enjoy. The need for more investment in education and other improvements was agreed by the speakers, and Mr Van Den Bossche highlighted the importance of relationships with teachers and peers; for him, “school is about people”. Mr Mentens talked about a shift in recruitment: these days, applicants often do not apply for a specific job but rather showcase their set of competences, and companies then match these with their position where the competences would be of value the most. That is why we need to make sure that schools and further education help us develop the right transversal and specific competences.

It was agreed that people want meaningful jobs where they feel a sense of purpose. Mr Van Den Bossche said there is the common question: do we work to live or live to work? And though it might seem that the former is the only right answer, he believes that people should also feel connected to their work.

The challenges and pressures of modern labour market were discussed, such as forced part-time or temp work or zero-hour contracts with no protection and no social security advantages, as well as burn-outs at work. The idea of a basic universal income, a divisive topic, was presented. Would guaranteed income for everyone, regardless their (in)activity, reward not working and discourage people to seek work if this meant little or no extra money for them? However, the positives were mentioned too: guaranteed basic income would help people in need of further education or training to acquire the skills currently required and would also encourage entrepreneurship, experimentation and innovation; according to Ms Bustorff, research so far has not suggested that “free money” discourages productivity. Ms Goeman wondered whether a basic universal income only for young people aged 18–25 or so might be a better option; this would allow them to explore their abilities and interests and experiment, with extra money if they do work. Mr Mentens emphasised that employers should also create an environment for young people to develop within their work, to be entrepreneurial and experiment.

“Entrepreneurship has never been easier,” Ms Goeman opined towards the end of the debate – but YouthProAktiv will keep working hard to make sure that the right supportive environment is created across Europe for entrepreneurs and startups as well as for development of proactivity, creativity and entrepreneurial skills, so crucial in the current society.