In a rapidly changing world, the characteristics of workers and the jobs that they perform have been affected by technological, social and political change on a global scale. New forms of employment have made work mobile to an extent never experienced before, and an increasing proportion of workers no longer need attend their employers' premises in order to do their work. The instability of employment is creating a new breed of workers who know how to move efficiently from one job to another, and consequently workers need flexible qualifications to enable them to react effectively to, and exercise initiative in, changes to their work, and to shape their own career in a time of diminishing job security.