Welcome to Sedefop's Skill Set and Match podcast, where we discuss any issue relating to vocational education and training, skills, qualifications, the link between education and the world of work.

Anpanos Polyzoidis.

One of the most primordial human desires has always been to be able to know what the future holds.

Over the millennia, it has fueled religious beliefs, esoteric exploration, let alone fomenting sham. We have, however, reached a point

in history at which forecasting the future is also a strictly scientific endeavor. Knowing what

changes and demands technological advance and climate development may bring in the years to come

is a matter of systematic study, and that study

could really help societies prepare for things that until a few decades ago would be completely

unexpected. Fabienne Guoubaudiment is someone who has dedicated her academic and professional life

exactly to that, the scientific study of future trends and the probabilistic

approach to the challenges that lie ahead. She was the keynote speaker at the celebration for the 20th

anniversary of Refairnet, SEDEFOP's network of vocational education and training national partner

organizations around Europe. Naturally, she concentrated

her presentation on the foreseeable changes to education and the world of work. I had the opportunity

to have what I consider a fascinating conversation with her at the event venue. Let's see whether

any of you share this enthusiasm of mine.

Fabian, thank you very much for taking the time to be with us here in this beautiful Thessaloniki concert hall.

Let me ask you first, what is a futurist? You're not a psychic, I'm here?

Well, the futurist is someone who studies the structure underlying the evolution of the world

and of humankind. So what we're trying to do is to understand how things are evolving

and what are the main trends, the mega trend, emerging

trends, disruptions, I mean, every kind of drivers that are leading the evolution.

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