Automation rapidly eliminating jobs

Automation could cause nearly half of all jobs to be dramatically altered or wiped out completely in the next 20 years, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). The rapid pace of workplace change will force governments to act decisively or face heightened social and economic tensions with young, low-skilled and gig-economy workers the most vulnerable. Some high-skilled workers may also benefit as technology will increase productivity and open new areas of opportunity.

We often hear about expected job losses stemming from greater automation with the most-used example being truck drivers losing out to autonomous vehicles. But the impact will likely go much beyond this and will likely disproportionately affect the least-skilled workers (who likely have the least education) in the economy first.

We need more institutions and support for vocational courses that allow individuals to re-train. Not only is this needed from a societal perspective, but we also need to train individuals to work with new technologies - otherwise the advancements these can bring won't be fully realised.

Beyond this, we need these programmes to allow individuals to realise their full potential