If there is little doubt about the benefits of a more highly skilled work force, it is not so straightforward to determine precisely which skills are required. The computerization of production processes achieved to date has put a premium on managerial and intellectual functions and made it possible to turn many repetitive functions, including intermediate functions, over to computers.
The Internet and cloud computing make it unnecessary for people working together on a project to be in the same place. Many knowledge-related activities can now be performed via distance interaction. By unbundling productive functions some of them, such as planning and design, can be relocated to the other side of the world.