The mandate of the Centre of the Future of Work (CFoW) consists of three objectives:

• Promote: To disseminate knowledge on the future of work to key stakeholders to ensure that they prepare adequality
• Research: Organise and coordinate interdisciplinary research on the future of work
• Collaborate: Provide industry leaders and policymakers with a platform to obtain as well as discuss these insights and voice their need for scientific knowledge

The Centre for the Future of Work serves as a platform for new information, interpretations, and research on themes of interest to various stakeholders. Born of the understanding that the future of work affects all fields of study, research and training, the University of Pretoria's Centre for the Future of Work (CFoW) will be inclusive of various disciplines and span across all professional and institutional boundaries.

While the Centre will advance generative research on the future of work and while the outcome of this research will be harnessed to assist in the curriculum transformation endeavours of UP (and, potentially, other partner universities), the research and its outcomes will also be aimed at advancing the University’s commitment to making a substantive contribution to the South African and African economies as well as to the broader social good. Myklebust and Smidt (2021) argue that the levels of upskilling and re-skilling of workforces that will be required in the immediate future are enormous and they correctly point out that universities and entities such as the Centre for the Future of Work can play a critical role in these endeavours – and thereby make a meaningful contribution to the economy.

Commenting on a recent report published by the World Economic Forum, Myklebust and Smidt (2021) argue that

“There is a fast-growing void and stark mismatch between people’s current skills and the skills needed for jobs that will be created in the next decade and that will become more prevalent because of the changes brought about by the fourth industrial revolution. Governments, businesses and educational institutions are simply not helping people acquire the skills they need to succeed.”

It is the afore-mentioned gap that the Centre for the Future of Work would wish to address, for the sake of our students as well as to give substance to the University’s commitment to its social responsibility obligations.