Volatility, offshoring, and the future of globalisation

Heightened volatility, competitive intensity, and the shifting dynamics of offshoring and reshoring sit at the centre of this 7CO01 video, which addresses AC 1.1's requirement to assess globalisation and its long-term significance for work and employment. The video examines how economic shocks — from financial crises and pandemics to geopolitical conflicts and technological disruptions — transmit rapidly across interconnected global systems, creating instability in workforce planning that traditional forecast-based approaches struggle to accommodate. It also considers the psychological dimension of this volatility for workers, including the implications of career uncertainty and employment insecurity for engagement and discretionary effort.

The video gives sustained attention to offshoring and reshoring as concrete expressions of globalisation's impact on employment structures. It traces the extension of offshoring from manufacturing into service activities such as customer service, IT, and financial processing, and discusses the labour cost differentials, skills access, and regulatory considerations that shape these decisions. The reshoring trend is addressed in terms of narrowing wage differentials, intellectual property concerns, automation, and the supply chain vulnerabilities exposed by COVID-19, alongside the political momentum behind domestic production of critical goods. Together, these topics illustrate the industrial restructuring and changing nature of employment that the unit's indicative content foregrounds.

The video closes by engaging directly with debates about globalisation's future trajectory, including the concept of "slowbalisation" as a description of potential plateauing or declining global economic integration. It considers how a more fragmented global economy — characterised by regional trading blocs, supply chain localisation, and economic nationalism — might affect different sectors, occupational groups, and established economies in uneven ways. Scenario planning, workforce flexibility, and continuous learning cultures are raised as relevant strategic responses for people professionals operating in this uncertain environment.