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FutureworkNZ blog

BlogA blog by Commission staff

This was set up to generate ideas and promote debate for our Technological change and the future of work inquiry.

We welcome robust, respectful and insightful thoughts and ideas. Please post your comments at the bottom of blog posts. Comments are moderated and won't appear immediately. 

About the blog


The Commission has completed its inquiry into Technological change and the future of work. Thanks to everyone who read and commented on this blog! Read the final inquiry report and recommendations to Government here. 


Dr Amelia Sharman

I dropped maths at school – what happened?

23 January 2020

In my final year of school, I completely dropped maths and science – resulting in a conference with …

Judy Kavanagh

Educating New Zealand’s future workforce

22 January 2020

Do you remember your first day at school? The education I received was for a very different world th…

New Years resolutions

New Year’s resolutions

7 January 2020

The first week back at work after the new year is the most popular time to look for a new job.

Students

Where are all the part-time students?

19 December 2019

You’d think that with low unemployment and ever-improving technology for distance education, the pro…

Handy

Generalist to specialist

5 December 2019

Both my parents are pretty handy – and they seem to have the right tools for most jobs in the garage…

Sushi train

Bite-sized learning

3 December 2019

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to micro-credentials, those bits of bite-sized learning c…

Cradle Mtn–Lake St Clair National Park

Getting the chop

25 November 2019

I’ve been made redundant. There, I’ve said it. Admittedly, it happened a long time ago. In 1986 I st…

Push the car

Get more people to push – or fix the engine?

21 November 2019

The Commission’s second draft report Employment, labour markets and income, for the Technological ch…

Golden handcuffs

Redundancy pay – a redundant policy tool?

20 November 2019

Redundancy pay is a rather primitive form of insurance or “income smoothing”. It’s an old technology…

Detroit Industry

Redundancy pay – who and what is it good for?

18 November 2019

Redundancy (or severance) pay is an old technology to protect people from the risks and costs of job…

Tim Maddock

How dynamic is the New Zealand labour market?

4 November 2019

Two new Productivity Commission reports tell us that the New Zealand labour market is characterised …

Jon contract

How effective are ALMPs?

30 October 2019

The success of an Active Labour Market Policy (ALMP) will depend a lot on the type of programme and …

ALMP

Low spending on ALMPs is not a good reason to increase it

21 October 2019

Based on OECD comparisons, New Zealand’s overall spending on Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) a…

Child care

When is a policy that helps people be in work not an ALMP?

9 October 2019

Answer: When it’s a childcare subsidy available to other low-income households.

School children

The confidence of youth

3 October 2019

Young people have a strong belief that technology will shape their future but what types of skills a…

Distance learning

How important is human capital to productivity?

18 September 2019

Have you ever done a MOOC? After completing four separate degrees and ten years at university, you w…

Desert island

Who should invest their money between workers’ ears?

22 July 2019

Training is an investment in “embodied human capital” – assets stored in workers’ heads.

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