"What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are."
| Anthony Robbins |
For the past 80 years, since the 1950’s, jobs haven’t changed very much. The same jobs that existed then still exist now, however the nature of the roles and responsibilities, thus the skills required have changed quite a bit. Another thing that has been a constant is the fear of automation, will technology leave us jobless? Will automation and digitization render many people useless to the workforce? Will robot dogs replace real cute puppies?
According to the World Bank Data, the global unemployment rate is currently 5.4% which is a slight increase from 4.3% in December 1950. This is actually a really good figure considering even some of the most basic changes (as discussed below) that have taken place since then. The unemployment rate is calculated by taking the total unemployment and dividing it by the total labour force at any given time. Now if women were not really accounted for in the 1950’s work force, the total labour force would have been a much smaller number, however today women make up for about 49% of the workforce, this is a large addition to the total workforce and yet the increase has only affected the unemployment rate by 1.1%. This means that the demand for human resource had increased significantly despite the growth of the population, the significant technological advancements and the unaccounted groups. Although it is clear that technology has made some jobs redundant, it is also clear that it has in parallel created much more job opportunities.
Automation, which is the use of machines and/or computers to replace functions performed by humans, is clearly now only one part of the story. What is equally significant are the other interacting trends including changing demographics, urbanization, globalization, inequality, political uncertainty and climate change. What does this mean? Consider for a moment, urbanization and globalization are trends that are interacting with each other and component parts of climate change - all of which are driving the ‘green’ sector. Currently the ‘green’ sector is producing new jobs faster than jobs are disappearing in the polluting sectors. However, in the face of increasing inequality, the high consumer cost of green energy could slow demand in job growth. In addition, investments in green technology are deeply entwined with government policy, making prospects even more uncertain.
An important note to take is that automation mainly disrupts low level jobs that may be labour intensive but will open up opportunities for jobs that require creative input and/or critical reasoning among others. This simply means that people need to be aware of the growing market demands that result in job demand in particular industries and develop skills that will contribute to these emerging trends. Having said that, allow me to clarify that this is still on the basis that they venture into areas based on their unique personality and strengths. Check out the video below to get an understanding of the projections for jobs of the future.
Understanding how these trends interact is clearly complex but it is also critical in order to understand the jobs of the future. So where does this leave us now? I believe that the human element is always a necessary component, call it creative input or the emotional element, either way we are here to stay. The future of jobs is looking much brighter than ever before and I can confidently say that the fear of losing our jobs to robots is an irrational one.
Our team at Missing Link Consultancy is ready to support you through this journey of self-understanding and to help you access the information you need in order to make the decisions you need to make. To get in touch with us, drop us an e-mail at info@missinglinkconsultancy.com or check out our services to find out more.
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