Abstract
Smart cities are a modern reality in an increasingly digitized and fast changing world; and, as multidimensional, multilayered and interconnected career ecosystems they bring a number of challenges for the development of sustainable careers. What are the systemic roots of these challenges, and how can we deal with them to support the emergence of sustainable careers? We draw on a sociotechnical approach, supplemented by a dynamic person–environment fit perspective, to describe two systemic challenges tied to the development of sustainable careers in smart cities, namely: (1) an unbalanced fit, in that the highly digitized context fits best with highly educated and information and communications technology (ICT) literate citizens working in knowledge intensive organizations; and (2) a volatility of fit, associated with the complex and fast-changing smart urban context. Based on the sociotechnical analysis, we put forth three suggestions for addressing these challenges and creating a sustainable career ecosystem focused on: (1) the continuous development of ICT literacy, knowledge, talents and skills; (2) citizen participation and career communities; and (3) network-centric organizing of sustainable careers that could alleviate some of the challenges associated with the parallel development of sustainable careers and smart cities.
Highlights
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the recovering British economy heavily relied on coal to support industrial growth
Adult professional development is more often realized in informal, rather than formal educational settings (Emery, 1982), which means that much of the professional competences acquired during one’s career often remain undetected or insufficiently acknowledged and used. To overcome this undesirable situation of under-utilization of skills (Houston, 2005), and in line with the sociotechnical ideas (Emery, 1982) we argue that a shift from the rather static focus on education to a focus on continuous development of talents and skills that are sought after in smart cities will facilitate the emergence of a dynamic person–smart city fit
We have argued that smart cities are a modern reality in which urban digitization brings forth opportunities as well as challenges for the emergence of sustainable careers
Summary
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the recovering British economy heavily relied on coal to support industrial growth. Smart cities as career ecosystems tend to attract highly educated individuals because organizations operating in these urban contexts need higher qualified people who possess the knowledge and skills to sustain their functioning (i.e. demand–ability fit) (Martin et al, 2018).
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