THE REPORT PRESENTS A VISION OF A FUTURE GLOBAL WORKFORCE THAT PROVIDES GROUNDS FOR BOTH OPTIMISM AND CAUTION. a result of automation, almost 40 % expect to extend their workforce generally and more than a quarter expect automation to create new roles in their enterprise.
EDITOR’ S QUESTION
HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE THAT THE NUMBER OF JOB LOSSES RESULTING FROM AI CAN BE DECREASED BY EDUCATING PEOPLE ON HOW TO HANDLE IT?
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The world is going through a workplace revolution that will bring a seismic shift in the way humans work alongside machines and algorithms, according to new research by the World Economic Forum. By 2025, more than half of all current workplace tasks will be performed by machines as opposed to 29 % today. Such a transformation will have a profound effect on the global labour force, however, in terms of overall numbers of new jobs the outlook is positive, with 133 million new jobs expected to be created by 2022 compared to 75 million that will be displaced.
The research, published in The Future of Jobs 2018, is an attempt to understand the potential of new technologies to disrupt and create jobs. It also seeks to provide guidance on how to improve the quality and productivity of the current work being done by humans and how to prepare people for emerging roles.
Based on a survey of chief human resources officers and top strategy executives from companies across 12 industries and 20 developed and emerging economies( which collectively account for 70 % of global GDP), the report finds that 54 % of employees of large companies would need significant re- and up-skilling in order to fully harness the growth opportunities offered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. At the same time, just over half of the companies surveyed said they planned to re-skill only those employees that are in key roles, while only one third planned to re-skill at-risk workers.
While nearly 50 % of all companies expect their full-time workforce to shrink by 2022 as
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THE REPORT PRESENTS A VISION OF A FUTURE GLOBAL WORKFORCE THAT PROVIDES GROUNDS FOR BOTH OPTIMISM AND CAUTION. a result of automation, almost 40 % expect to extend their workforce generally and more than a quarter expect automation to create new roles in their enterprise.
The report presents a vision of a future global workforce that provides grounds for both optimism and caution. Compared to a similar study by the Forum in 2016 to understand the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on jobs, the outlook for job creation today is much more positive as businesses have a much greater understanding of the opportunities made available by technology. At the same time, the huge disruption automation will bring to the global labour force is almost certain to bring with it significant shifts in the quality, location, format and permanency of roles that will require close attention from leaders in the public and private sector.
Harnessing the transformative potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will require coordinated efforts among stakeholders in all industries and regions to formulate a comprehensive workforce augmentation strategy ready to meet the challenges of this new era of change and innovation. Business, government and workers must proactively plan and implement a new vision for the global labour market.
36 INTELLIGENTCIO www. intelligentcio. com