Integrated sustainability. Social and environmental aspects will continue to be fundamental in developing a flexible and adaptable workforce. Worker development and deployment will function in tandem to equip workers with future-ready skills and ensure efficient distribution of labour across industries and regions. By aligning social and environmental workforce needs with coordinated development strategies, labour flexibility will be increased, allowing workers to transition between roles and industries more effectively, ultimately creating an inclusive workforce. End-to-end collaboration. Resource and talent sharing have the potential to enhance workforce adaptability and inclusivity by creating ecosystems in which knowledge, training and capabilities will be shared throughout value chains. The mobility of workers within industrial clusters and across borders will promote innovation and labour flexibility, leading to economic resilience. Cross- border and intergovernmental cooperation will facilitate resource and talent sharing while ensuring compliance with incentives and guidelines, inspiring economic and social equity across regions. Additionally, collaborative operations will help identify vital workforce skills, enabling targeted upskilling programmes that will support adaptability, sustainability and inclusive economic growth. Upskilling initiatives will primarily focus on prioritizing a skills-first approach, equipping workers with industry- relevant competencies rather than emphasizing academic qualifications. The digital workplace for white-collar workers, powered by AI and remote- work capabilities, will enable an augmented and virtual workforce to collaborate globally, breaking geographical barriers and increasing workforce diversity, efficiency and innovation. Technology adoption. The technology toolbox for enhancing social equity should include data- management technologies that will enhance workforce capabilities by generating real-time data to identify skills gaps, optimize performance and personalize training programmes. Data analytics technologies will further drive skills development by augmenting tasks, increasing efficiency and enabling continuous learning. Technological work assistants will support remote collaboration and promote workforce inclusivity. Integrating these technological innovations into an industrial metaverse will revolutionize the workplace by enabling labour flexibility, upskilling and adaptability within a digital environment.4.7 Workforce and skills From Shock to Strategy: Building Value Chains for the Next 30 Years 27

From Shock to Strategy 2025