If you have a few minutes, search the internet for ‘robot employment’ and a few things are crystal clear: Increased automation is a reality, and it will change not only the kind of jobs people will do in the future, but also the way they do their jobs.
Millions of workers around the world are worried about losing their jobs. A report released recently from the World Economic Forum (WEF) showed that over the next five years, artificial intelligence (AI) and machines will take over more humans tasks and jobs in the workplace at an accelerating pace.
The WEF report, ‘The Future of Jobs 2020’, is based on a survey of over 1,000 business leaders from more than 60 countries representing developed and emerging economies, as well as the US, Europe and Asia. The WEF estimates that the development of automation technologies such as AI could displace 75 million jobs but create 133 million new jobs by 2022 as companies overhaul the division of labour between humans and machines.
According to the report, labour is automating faster than expected, and half of all work will be done by machines by 2025. And the most competitive companies will be those that decide to retrain and qualify their current workforce.
The robotic revolution will create 97 million new jobs, but communities most at risk of disruption will need the support of businesses and governments, as they become more vulnerable to being replaced over the next five years.
Jobs will change, and employers and educators have a part to play in equipping people with the skills they need
That is why so many lower tasks are left to automation: machines can do everything that can be done predictably and repeatedly today, and it simply makes no sense to waste human labour on this type of task. Currently about 1.5 million tasks no longer depend on human labour, but that number is expected to rise as technology improves.
New jobs will replace old ones, and new ones will become more popular as automation releases jobs that have been bad and boring. The robotic revolution is here, and it is creating a new industrial revolution in which humans will still play the most important role. We look forward to a future where robots will drive job growth and create exciting jobs that we cannot even imagine today.
The eSkills Malta Foundation welcomes this because it knows that it will make our lives easier, as technology always does, and because we know that technology’s very existence will create new jobs.
Automation does not mean the end of jobs, but the beginning of new jobs and new skills. Besides creating new jobs, robots will change the nature of work and skills required, shifting existing jobs to higher-value tasks. Similarly, with the rise of the computer age, the expectation is growing that robots will improve jobs, not take them away.
Similarly, the rise of automation in many industries has not just been about rethinking business operations, but about seizing opportunities and creating more meaningful and productive careers for employees. Jobs will also change, and employers and educators have a part to play in equipping people with the skills they need.
Automation is transforming the workflows of organisations across all sectors and spreading across industries without reducing employment opportunities for people. By combining automation and technology with skills development, tomorrow’s jobs will be more widespread and rewarding than ever.
This article was prepared by collating various publicly available online sources.
Claude Calleja, Executive, eSkills Malta Foundation