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The world of work is rearranging itself underneath our feet: workforces are rapidly aging, remote work and the gig economy are surging, young people are turning away from universities, manual trades are begging for new hires and AI is fundamentally altering the landscape. The ideas we grew up with about what work is desirable, secure or meaningful no longer seem to apply, leaving many of us to wonder: Will I still have a job in the years ahead? And if so, what will it look like?

In Skilled: How to Master the Changing World of Work, Oxford economist and data scientist Dr Fabian Stephany gets to the heart of this sweeping transformation, cutting through the alarmist headlines and utopian promises to reveal a core truth: while the future of work may be more uncertain than ever, the key to thriving remains timeless - skills. It sounds simple, but with the rise of new modes of work and the widening 'skill gap', Stephany argues that learning the right skills isn't just a survival strategy or gateway to opportunity - it's also of vital political importance. The gap between the few with the skills suited to emerging forms of work and the many without is only widening - leaving those 'left behind' prone to simple truths in an increasingly polarised world.

Through historical and present-day examples, Skilled examines how individuals and groups have learned new skills and leveraged existing ones, setting out a roadmap for individuals and policymakers of the future.

Fabian Stephany is a Departmental Research Lecturer at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), University of Oxford and a Senior Research Fellow with the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School. He is also a Future of Work fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, an inaugural fellow at Microsoft’s AI Economy Institute, and a research affiliate at the Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society in Berlin. Additionally, he currently serves as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council for Human Capital Development.

At the OII, Fabian leads the SkillScale project, which views skills as a central lens through which to understand today’s labour market transitions. By examining how work quality, job growth, and labour market equitability and sustainability respond to technological change, the project investigates how AI skills are becoming increasingly pivotal for workers and employers alike. As part of his Microsoft fellowship, Fabian is currently exploring the role of AI skills in employability—particularly how working with generative AI enhances job prospects and addresses the gender gap between men and women.

Fabian is also a co-creator of the Online Labour Observatory—a digital data hub hosted in collaboration with the International Labour Organization that provides researchers, policymakers, journalists, and the public with insights into online platform work. His research has been published in leading academic journals, such as Research Policy and Scientific Reports, and has received media coverage in outlets around the world, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Telegraph, Nikkei Asia, Handelsblatt, and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

He holds a PhD and other degrees in economics and social science statistics from European institutions, including Università Bocconi in Milan and the University of Cambridge. In addition to his academic positions, he has worked as a senior data scientist in the private sector and regularly advises international organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, and the OECD.

Book talk - 'Skilled: How to Master the Changing World of Work' with Dr Fabian Stephany