Sustainable development and new forms of work. A scenario of common, basic challenges for public and private players (International Labour Forum – Academic Discussion «Employment and the Labour Market: Contours of De-Standardisation» St.Petersburg, 23 Apr

The article illustrates the implications for the world of work of two decisive factors of change in the global situation: the joint commitment of states to promote sustainable development according to the normative guidelines of the United Nations and the effects of the pandemic crisis. It proposes the reference to the institutionalist theoretical approach as the most appropriate to provide a valid interpretation of the diversity of orientations in economic and social development policies, including labour policies, which occur on the global scene. The article presents the analyzes on the professions of the future and the relative employment prospects for 2030 contained in two studies developed in Italy on the basis of predictive models that applied specific Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, officially presented in the first half of 2021. Presented research recalls the ultimate meaning of the phenomenon of structural crisis, the value of institutionalist theory in understanding the complexity of the processes of development, and progress of communities and, in the context of the choice for sustainability, the importance of the changes that lie ahead in the world of work in relation to the specific green and digital transition processes currently promoted by the states. Article’s findings may stimulate research on predictive models in the field of employment and new professions projected beyond short-term trends, in the broader dimensions of perspectives and scenarios