Work and training change: Marini's "Lexicon of the new world".

Daniele Marini, a sociologist at the University of Padua, is one of the most profound connoisseurs of the transformations of society and the Northeast economy. From many of his privileged observers, from academic research through the Northeast Foundation to the research division of the Community Group, he has been analyzing for years the changes that are moving under the radar in the belly of the industrial and economic districts of the Northeast. In his latest book, "New World Lexicon. A reading of social and economic changes” (Marsilio), puts in order a series of reflections to orient oneself in this historical phase of extraordinary changes. With particular attention to the evolutions that are upsetting the physiognomy of the world of work and the employment prospects of the youngest.

Professor Marini, your latest work begins with a provocation that is able to jam the wheels of Western society. "Uncertainty is the only certainty we have": we Italians, we Europeans, where can we hold on to find some firm points and not be overwhelmed by the pandemic?

“Ulrich Beck's analyzes were prophetic when he theorized the new global risk society. Compared to the past, for every decision that is taken, individual or collective, today it is increasingly difficult to identify its effects and consequences. A lifeline can only be found in training, obviously not just school or university training. If the landscape around us changes continuously, the only way to have as many interpretations as possible is to increase one's training. Here, as Hans Jonas said, training takes on an ethical value, a decisive dimension for staying in society».

The transversal and continuous training also becomes a sort of passepartout to stay in line with an increasingly elusive world of work.

«We will witness radical processes of change in the world of learning, at all levels. With the aim of forming profiles suitable for a certain "employability" and no longer just to get to a specific job. The working techniques, in every area, become obsolete and are updated at a dizzying pace, while the so-called "soft skills" remain over time and in the various jobs».

A chapter of the book is dedicated to the organizational revolution of our new lives. From the "ora et labora" to the twentieth-century stamp of the tag, arriving at the "liquid work" that can be spread throughout the day. However, these changes seem to better adapt to the more educated classes, perhaps more affluent, certainly more integrated into the opportunities of the globalized world. Will Covid act as a "super polarizer" of conditions between different social classes?

“The risk is very strong. All economic rankings tell us the stories of who makes it and who gets crushed by change. We know that this is the case but it is not certain that it is an irreversible path. Here the reasoning moves to the political level, because only public policies can mitigate this risk. In order not to leave anyone behind, we also need to change, and I write this in the book, the concept of solidarity, or rather how to redistribute resources and opportunities in a society where there are those who have a lot and those who have nothing. However, modern solidarity must go beyond the simple and old redistributive concept".

We have a recent example of this with basic income, but I don't think your analysis is limited to this.

«With increasingly long, perhaps intermittent, working careers, with frequent interruptions of work even in old age, we will have to think of something more than a simple welfare measure. For example, an income to retrain in work is an active policy which is not "only" public solidarity but is a support from the community to put everyone, or most of them, in the conditions to stay on the job market. Continuing education, the concept of "lifelong learning", i.e. a school system capable of training for life, is the key to ensuring that no one is left behind in a changing world».

We are already immersed in the knowledge society, knowledge is usable by everyone and everywhere. But in Italian society the social elevators are malfunctioning: the children of notaries are notaries, those of journalists are journalists and rentiers live as rentiers. Does training really serve to break down the glass ceilings in a country where, with or without a degree or an adequate curriculum, one can get to any role?

«In the end, however, we went to look for Mario Draghi, we went to knock on those with the skills. The pandemic itself has re-evaluated the central role of science and knowledge. So yes, knowledge and training are still the trump card to improve one's starting social class. All the statistics tell us that those with a degree, net of the initial difficulties in finding a job, over time earn higher salaries than graduates".

Another line of analysis in the book concerns the fragility of many production chains. From the more complex ones, where goods with high added value are produced, to the simpler ones (even paper masks were missing at the beginning of the pandemic). In the Northeast the theme is really felt: how will the geography of production change after Covid?

«The geographical relocation of the supply chains is a process that began in 2008, now the pandemic has also added. But the framework is much broader: there is in fact a trade war between the US and China, the two factories in the world. Environmental and production process sustainability is becoming a basic requirement for those who produce goods and services. Lastly, we are witnessing a powerful digitization process that makes what was not until yesterday possible and close. The question is simple: is it still worthwhile for companies to structure themselves through "long supply chains"? Is it more advantageous to produce in China or does it cost more to control and coordinate work in China? Globalization is not lacking, the logic of the long supply chain at all costs has been overcome: in fact, we speak of "regionalized globalization". In a nutshell: if before the supply chains were built only on the logic of cost, now they are evaluated on "resilience", on the environmental impact, on the sustainability of the processes».

The so-called "reshoring", the return home of production, is dictated in some cases by political and strategic considerations.

«Certainly, but to stay on the economic side, today all the major global consultancy companies speak in their reports of the need for transparency, cooperation and sharing between the economic players active in the supply chains. A sort of revenge of the cooperative logic».

You speak of "entrepreneurial" jobs, as an antidote to the job that is missing or will be missing. But it is also true that we cannot all be Californian startuppers. In the labor market, not only serial, repetitive, bureaucratic jobs are swept away, but also those linked to medium-high level services. In the USA, for example, legal opinions and arguments are drafted by "machines" with artificial intelligence.

«The correct wording is "entrepreneurial workers", but not in the sense that we will all become self-employed. In today's work, technologies and digital are increasing the organizational autonomy of individual workers. And this generates expectations of ever greater degrees of autonomy. Furthermore, in factories and offices, generalist professions are shrinking, or in any case crushed by Fordist and Taylorist logic. Workers perform multiple roles in the company, become interchangeable for production needs and the so-called "job rotation" takes place in a chain. The workers now participate in all phases of the production process, also improving the "serial" aspects of the more monotonous jobs».