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Is Volvo a car or a computer?

The Nordic countries are well advanced in the use of the new technology. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are at the forefront of Europe in terms of home PCs, Internet connections, and, not least, ownership of mobile telephones. But the lack of skilled labour can be an obstacle to continued rapid development, warn many experts.
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New model means many changes

From 1996 Volvo launched the new car model V70. The letter "V" was meant to mean versatility. Compared to the earlier model Volvo 850, 1 800 changes had been made. Photo: IFCAR

The "new" human being

Marx was right. Nowadays, the workers own the actual means of production, maintain the authors Kjell A. Nordström and Jonas Ridderstolpe in the book «Funkybusiness» (reviewed in Nordic Labour Journal 1/2000).

This puts new demands on individuals. To become employable requires lifelong learning – the continual updating of knowledge.

When asked, 96 Swedish personnel directors said that the people most in demand are those who command the new technology, have social skills and show initiative. Many of the personnel directors believe that these

characteristics go together with a thorough education. In job advert after job advert, the call is for the right «mindset» and flexibility.

«The responsibility for in-service training lies with both the individual and the workplace, but everything needs to be based on individual learning,» says Kurt Lundgren, PhD in Economics at the Swedish Institute of Working Life.

«But it is not sufficient to stress that individuals need to adapt to the working life. The actual workplaces must also be improved so that they are attractive to individuals,» stressed Mona Sahlin, Minister in the Swedish government, when the future supply of labour was discussed.

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