Uploaded April 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
Take this course for free on edx.org
edx.org/course/work-and-employment-for-a-sustainable-future
We are living in a financially fragile world. There is economic growth, but not enough opportunities to find decent work. Globally, more than 200 million people are still unemployed, but there has been progress in standards of labour and work. This is not sustainable. Learn from experts from the International Labour Organization, Harvard University, and more about the state of work in our world, and what it will take to ensure steady, inclusive and sustainable economic development for all.
National economies have grown substantially since the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century yet people have not necessarily seen an increase in opportunities to find decent work or earn a decent income. In fact, in some places, the increased productivity and rising profits associated with automation have directly impacted the availability of decent jobs. According to the International Labour Organization, more than 204 million people were unemployed in 2015, and more than 600 million new jobs are needed by 2030 just to keep pace with the growth of the working-age population. We also need to improve working conditions for the 780 million women and men who are employed but not earning enough to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. In addressing these core issues we will not only see increasing decent work opportunities but also more robust, inclusive and poverty-reducing growth.
This course explores the past and future of work in the context of the SDGs, particularly SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. It examines the state of income and employment around the world, barriers to employment, policies to promote economic opportunity, and the future of work in our rapidly changing world. Encouraging entrepreneurship and job creation are key to achieving the SDGs, as are effective measures to eradicate forced labour, slavery and human trafficking. With these targets in mind, the world can achieve full and productive employment and decent work, for all women and men, by 2030.
This six-module massive open online course (MOOC) provides an in-depth look at the issues of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. The topics covered include structural shifts in economies and work; informality, gender and child labor, the modern welfare state; the future of work, and more. The course concludes with a special module by the ILO on realizing decent work for all and achieving SDG 8.
What you will learn:
Module 1: Decent Work for Sustainable Development
Introduction to SDG 8
Employment, Decent Work and Social Justice for Sustainability
Link between Employment, Work, Income and Wealth
Measuring Decent Work and SDG 8
Implosion Points, Demographic Change, Changing Nature & Locations of Jobs and Incomes
Module 2: Transitions in Employment and Work
Structural Shifts in Economies and Work
Skill Bias
Work in a Post Manufacturing World
Macroeconomic Context of Diminishing Returns to Labor
Social Democratic Model
Disaggregating Productivity Gains
Global Perspectives on Changes to Formal Employment ****
Module 3: Challenges of Work: Informality, Gender and Child Labor
Informal Employment: Definitions and Debates
Global Data: Size, Composition and Characteristics
Urban Informal Self-Employment
Informal Self Employment: Informal Enterprises
Informal Self Employment: Dependent Contractors
Challenges for Policy for Informal Workers and Enterprises
Formalization and Decent Work
Women in the Informal Workforce
Child Labor
Case Study: Modern Slavery and Children
Module 4: Current Policy Responses
Tracing the Rise of a Modern Welfare State
Features of a Modern Welfare State
New Policy Instruments
Developing Policies for the Education to Work Pipeline
Module 5: Structural and Institutional Models for the Future of Work
The New Dilemma of Development
The Knowledge Economy and Its Future
Labor and Capital
Finance and the Real Economy
The Capable Agent: Education
Module 6: Future of Jobs and Work
Automation, Work and Wellbeing
The Political Economy of Automation
Skills and the Jobs of the Future
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work
Challenge and Opportunities for Stable Inclusive Societies
Module 7: Special Module in Partnership with the ILO: Achieving SDG 8 and Realizing Decent Work for All
Promoting Full and Productive Employment
A Transformative Agenda for Gender Equality at Work
International Labour Standards
Labor Market Governance and Social Dialogue in the Face of Rapid Changes
Policies to Realize the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
Universal, Adequate and Comprehensive Social Protection
Take this course for free on edx.org
edx.org/course/work-and-employment-for-a-sustainable-future
We are living in a financially fragile world. There is economic growth, but not enough opportunities to find decent work. Globally, more than 200 million people are still unemployed, but there has been progress in standards of labour and work. This is not sustainable. Learn from experts from the International Labour Organization, Harvard University, and more about the state of work in our world, and what it will take to ensure steady, inclusive and sustainable economic development for all.
National economies have grown substantially since the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century yet people have not necessarily seen an increase in opportunities to find decent work or earn a decent income. In fact, in some places, the increased productivity and rising profits associated with automation have directly impacted the availability of decent jobs. According to the International Labour Organization, more than 204 million people were unemployed in 2015, and more than 600 million new jobs are needed by 2030 just to keep pace with the growth of the working-age population. We also need to improve working conditions for the 780 million women and men who are employed but not earning enough to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. In addressing these core issues we will not only see increasing decent work opportunities but also more robust, inclusive and poverty-reducing growth.
This course explores the past and future of work in the context of the SDGs, particularly SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. It examines the state of income and employment around the world, barriers to employment, policies to promote economic opportunity, and the future of work in our rapidly changing world. Encouraging entrepreneurship and job creation are key to achieving the SDGs, as are effective measures to eradicate forced labour, slavery and human trafficking. With these targets in mind, the world can achieve full and productive employment and decent work, for all women and men, by 2030.
This six-module massive open online course (MOOC) provides an in-depth look at the issues of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. The topics covered include structural shifts in economies and work; informality, gender and child labor, the modern welfare state; the future of work, and more. The course concludes with a special module by the ILO on realizing decent work for all and achieving SDG 8.
What you will learn:
Module 1: Decent Work for Sustainable Development
Introduction to SDG 8
Employment, Decent Work and Social Justice for Sustainability
Link between Employment, Work, Income and Wealth
Measuring Decent Work and SDG 8
Implosion Points, Demographic Change, Changing Nature & Locations of Jobs and Incomes
Module 2: Transitions in Employment and Work
Structural Shifts in Economies and Work
Skill Bias
Work in a Post Manufacturing World
Macroeconomic Context of Diminishing Returns to Labor
Social Democratic Model
Disaggregating Productivity Gains
Global Perspectives on Changes to Formal Employment ****
Module 3: Challenges of Work: Informality, Gender and Child Labor
Informal Employment: Definitions and Debates
Global Data: Size, Composition and Characteristics
Urban Informal Self-Employment
Informal Self Employment: Informal Enterprises
Informal Self Employment: Dependent Contractors
Challenges for Policy for Informal Workers and Enterprises
Formalization and Decent Work
Women in the Informal Workforce
Child Labor
Case Study: Modern Slavery and Children
Module 4: Current Policy Responses
Tracing the Rise of a Modern Welfare State
Features of a Modern Welfare State
New Policy Instruments
Developing Policies for the Education to Work Pipeline
Module 5: Structural and Institutional Models for the Future of Work
The New Dilemma of Development
The Knowledge Economy and Its Future
Labor and Capital
Finance and the Real Economy
The Capable Agent: Education
Module 6: Future of Jobs and Work
Automation, Work and Wellbeing
The Political Economy of Automation
Skills and the Jobs of the Future
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work
Challenge and Opportunities for Stable Inclusive Societies
Module 7: Special Module in Partnership with the ILO: Achieving SDG 8 and Realizing Decent Work for All
Promoting Full and Productive Employment
A Transformative Agenda for Gender Equality at Work
International Labour Standards
Labor Market Governance and Social Dialogue in the Face of Rapid Changes
Policies to Realize the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
Universal, Adequate and Comprehensive Social Protection
