4IR to create 5.3M new Australian jobs by 2034 across every industry
2.7 million jobs at risk without skill development, ACS and Faethm find
11 March 2020
2.7 million Australian jobs are at risk from automation over the next 15 years, but more than twice as many roles could be created if the nation invests in its workforce, says a report on technology’s impact on the workplace.
The Technology Impacts on the Australian Workforce found Australian workers are feeling the effects of emerging technologies across industries as jobs are augmented by technology at an unprecedented rate.
ACS CEO Andrew Johnson said “This ACS commissioned research was undertaken by Harbour City Labs resident Faethm, an SAAS Artificial Intelligence platform delivering insights on the impact of emerging technologies. The research methodology looks at the technology adoption and s-curves across seventeen technology categories such as robotics, predictive analysis, machine learning and artificial intelligence.”
“In addition to occupations and skills requirement forecasts, we also wanted to explore the degree to which imbalances might exist between the adaptability and future-readiness of workers across industries.
The report findings forecast that up to 7.2m Australian workers will be impacted by technological advancement over the next 15 years with 2.7m of those roles being totally replaced by automation technologies (4.5m roles will change and augment new technological capabilities).
The industries most affected by digital transformation will be Retail with 450k jobs, Construction at 290k and Health care at 201k.
Capturing the benefits of automation will create an additional 5.3m new jobs over the next 15 years.
The report provides a granular look at all industries, and provides a series of insights into reskilling pathways to transition at risk workers to less automatable target careers. The smaller the skills gap the faster the transition. For example, tourism and travel advisors pivoting into sales, electrical trades pivoting into IT Security Consultants.
“The findings tabled in our report provide deep insights for businesses to inform future workforce development plans, as well as for policy makers to maximise the participation rate of all citizens in the opportunities afforded by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Education and re-skilling the workforce is crucial to prevent rising inequiality and long-term structural unemployment”.
The report also found the gender composition of roles within an industry is key to understanding the differing impact of technology by gender. For example, in the Financial Services and Insurance industry, the over-representation of women in positions such as customer service representatives, administrative or clerk position drives the higher level of automation among females. By comparison, males are more likely to be found in technical roles or management – positions which experience higher levels of augmentation rather than automation.
The report called for a macro, cross-policy approach by governments to address impact on the workforce. “The fourth industrial revolution is here, but is Australia ready?” Johnson said.
-ENDS-
Director of Corporate Affairs and Public Policy
ACS is the professional association for Australia's technology sector. More than 43,000 ACS members work in business, education, government and the community. ACS exists to create the environment and provide the opportunities for members and partners to succeed.
The Society strives for technology professionals to be recognised as drivers of innovation in our society, relevant across all sectors, along with promoting the formulation of effective policies on technology and related matters. Visit www.acs.org.au for more information.