Workforce automating faster than expected, reveals WEF survey
NEW DELHI/GENEVA: The Covid-19 pandemic is making companies automate their workforce faster than expected globally, while firms with operations in India are accelerating their automation and digitisation above the global average, a World Economic Forum study showed on Wednesday.
The year-long study on effects of automation in the workplace and the outlook for robot revolution found that the ‘future of work’ has arrived early due to Covid-19 and may lead to 85 million jobs getting displaced in the next five years in medium and large businesses across just 15 industries and 26 economies.
At the same time, the robot revolution will create 97 million new jobs, but communities most at risk from disruption will need support from businesses and governments, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said.
These new jobs would mostly emerge in the care economy, in fourth industrial revolution technology industries like artificial intelligence, and in content creation fields.
“Businesses with operations in India are accelerating automation and digitisation above the global average. While 58 per cent are accelerating automation of tasks, compared to 50 per cent globally, as many as 87 per cent
FIRMS WITH OPS IN INDIA ARE ACCELERATING AUTOMATION DIGITISATION ABOVE THE GLOBAL AVERAGE, THE STUDY SAID
are accelerating digitalisation of work processes, above the global average of 84 per cent,” the study showed.
By 2025, employers will divide work between humans and machines equally.
Roles that leverage human skills will rise in demand. Machines will be primarily focused on information and data processing, administrative tasks and routine manual jobs for white and blue-collar positions. The tasks where humans are set to retain their comparative advantage include managing, advising, decision-making, reasoning, communicating and interacting.
There will be a surge in demand for workers who can fill green-economy jobs, roles at the forefront of the data and artificial intelligence economy, as well as new roles in engineering, cloud computing and product development. But for those workers set to remain in their roles in the next five years, nearly 50 per cent will need reskilling for their core skills.
The report incorporated data from the top hiring and strategy managers at the world’s biggest companies, as also from the study’s partners LinkedIn, Coursera, FutureFit AI and ADP. It used projections of senior business leaders representing nearly 300 global companies.
According to the study, analytical thinking, creativity and flexibility are among the top skills needed over the next five years, while data and artificial intelligence, content creation and cloud computing are the top emerging professions. By 2025, automation and a new division of labour between humans and machines will disrupt 85 million jobs in medium and large businesses across 15 industries and 26 economies. Roles in areas such as data entry, accounting and administrative support are decreasing in demand as automation and digitization in the workplace increase, it said.