Leiden, 1 July 2026 – Piotr Lewandowski (IBS) presented SkiLMeeT research at the FORTIS project webinar on the impacts of automation on 30 June 2026.
Lewandowski showcased the paper “Automation and Educational Choice: Evidence from Norway”, co-authored with Karol MadoĊ and Vegard Skirbekk, which shows how industrial automation influences young people’s educational choices and the skills they acquire.
Using student-level data from Norway for 2006 – 2018, combined with regional data on robot adoption, the research investigates whether industrial automation discourages students from choosing vocational education pathways that lead to automation-prone occupations.
The preliminary findings show that students living in regions where exposure to industrial robots is rising more strongly are less likely to choose automation-prone vocational tracks. The effect is particularly strong among boys and among students whose fathers work in routine manual occupations. The study also finds that lower-achieving students are more likely to select these vocational pathways, pointing to patterns of negative selection that may contribute to widening inequalities in the future.
The webinar explored the implications of automation for labour markets, skills, education and public policy, providing an opportunity for SkiLMeeT research to contribute to discussions on the future of work and skills in Europe.
