By Sue-Ann Wayow
AS the trends of the 21st Century move rapidly through the technological era, workers and employers must begin to adopt new mindsets and strategies.
This is what Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley believes the modern-day worker must do in order not to be considered “future handicapped.”
The individual must always be alert, sensing, monitoring, analysing trends, innovations and markets of this century, he said, in his Labour Day message to citizens.
Dr Rowley said, “A dynamic set of new forces are creating provocative changes that have shaken and continue to transform economies, markets, and societies. Every day, there are new business models, with new innovations, and markets. These are demanding that the old antagonisms, and fixed, iron-fisted positions of management and labour be changed to a softer, more collaborative approach.”
While the changing workforce was getting rid of the traditional workforce and human labour, the worker was required to learn new skills and possess new capabilities.
Dr Rowley said, “As we celebrate Labour Day 2023, I believe that we all should focus on the trends of the 21st century, the impact of artificial intelligence, regenerative medicine, which seeks to extend our lives, robots and drones, the smart machines that are re-designing and managing global businesses and manufacturing, climate change, digital consumerism and the availability of speed in all these facets of the new environment.”
He also said that the new trends demanded that both labour and management shift radically, to a more consultative and collaborative approach.
“I believe that the 21st century demands that we in Trinidad and Tobago build a new labour-management model, which must include participation in employee stock ownership and will be identified by its soft skills of collaboration, business intelligence, kindness, empathy, and compassion,” Dr Rowley said.
