Automation and jobs: how institutions must change

With the technology currently available, about one-third of the activities in 60% of all jobs could be automated today. That, however, does not mean millions of jobs will be gone tomorrow. Automation will be partial, with machines carrying out only some tasks. The net effect of automation on employment still remains unclear.

For example, in the case of paralegals, who do the research so that lawyers can do their job, automation has increased the demand for such workers. In the US today there are more paralegals than ever before; however, they must be equipped with new skills. They need to master basic data analytics tools and also be digitally literate.

Will technological advances bring economic and social gains for the middle class?

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To a large extent that depends on how we design education and institutions, according to an article on the McKinsey.com website.

Continuous learning is necessary

In the digital economies, capital and talent are disproportionately rewarded when compared with a low-skilled workforce. The importance of primary education and reskilling will be vital.

In Greece, the Alliance for Digital Employability provides coding boot camps to some of the unemployed. Several educational institutions and private employers work together and want to reskill 1,500 people annually during the next decade.

Regional development should be planned

We need to adjust and rethink our education and social security systems. Our mindsets must change. Life-long guaranteed jobs are gone and will not return. Safety nets and incentives must be set in a manner that encourages people to reskill regularly.

What can help are planned regional development policies. In many states there are deindustrialised or peripheral areas where communities have lost faith and nothing is happening. Investments in professional training and infrastructure is the kind of support that will help to make these territories part of the new economy.

-jk-

Article source McKinsey & Company - global management consulting firm
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