The Future of Work Podcast

Global youth unemployment is rising and AI is reshaping entry-level roles. In this episode of the Future of Work podcast, we analyze the 2026 trends with Sara Elder, the lead author of the 2026 ILO Global Employment Trends for Youth report. Joined by youth Scout leaders from Romania, Mexico, and Zimbabwe, we explore why this is a structural crisis and what institutions must do to support the next generation.

Economic growth and rising productivity don’t automatically translate into better jobs and higher incomes. ILO Chief Economist Sangheon Lee explains why many workers are not seeing the benefits and what can be done to share the gains from growth more widely.

How can Africa turn skills into real opportunities for decent work? Albert Rukeisa of the Association of Tanzania Employers and Priyadarshini Gupta of the Mauritius Trade Union Congress discuss the challenges on the ILO’s Future of Work podcast.

In this episode of the ILO’s Future of Work podcast, Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques and Casper Edmonds, an ILO expert on the circular economy and the world of work, explore what living and working in space can teach us about using finite resources on Earth. They discuss the opportunities and challenges of the circular economy, the millions of people already working in it, and how the transition can create decent work for all.

Patrick Belser, Chief of the ILO's Inclusive Labour Markets, Wages and Working Conditions Branch, explains how Convention No. 193 aims to promote decent work in the platform economy and what it means for digital platform workers, digital labour platforms and governments.