adminADVANCES in technology risk creating an under-class of low-skilled people whose jobs have been automated, according to a report from Deloitte, the “Big Four” accountancy firm, and the University of Oxford.
Ten million British jobs could be taken over by computers and robots over the next 20 years, wiping out more than one in three roles.
The research predicts that up to 35 percent of jobs will be made redundant by technical advances over the next 10 to 20 years — some 10.8 million positions. According to the latest official data, 30.76 million people are employed in the UK.
Angus Knowles-Cutler, London senior partner at Deloitte, said: “Technological advances are likely to cause a major shift in the UK labour market in the coming decades.
“Unless these changes are understood and anticipated, there will be a risk of avoidable unemployment and under-employment. A widening gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ is also a risk as lower-skill jobs disappear.”
Positions most at risk include clerical duties and support services, and sectors such as administration, sales, transportation, construction, mining, energy and production.
The safest jobs include those in computing, engineering and science as people are needed to develop the technologies taking over from humans, along with positions in management, arts and media, law, education, health care and finance.
But Knowles-Cutler said that new roles will be created as new industries spring up, along with positions requiring the skills machines cannot match.
Management, creativity, entrepreneurship and problem-solving are abilities unlikely to be replaced by technology. – timeslive.co.za
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu