Prompted by the Bank of England Chief Economist’s recent warning that artificial intelligence could leave many ‘technologically unemployed’ in future, Optimis Recruitment says its now exploring how to work with job candidates and employers to ensure this change creates opportunities rather than bringing about job losses.

Labelled by some as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the advancement of technology is likely to have a large impact on the job market, with an estimated 45% of employee activities being taken over by technology. It is thought that by 2020 as many as five million jobs will be performed by computers.

But with this evolution, there is the potential for a lot of new jobs to be created, with humans taking on more higher-level roles. Optimus are encouraging islanders to become aware of these changes so they can start to learn the appropriate skills to take on these new roles.

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Pictured: Chris Patel, Senior Consultant at Optimus Recruitment.

Chris Patel, Senior Consultant at Optimus Recruitment, explained: “It is without doubt that robots and computers will change the way we work, but this is about being prepared for change. Ensuring that you have the necessary skills and are familiar with technology will mean that you will always have value in the job market. It is down to employers to retrain their staff and for individuals seeking employment to upskill and reskill to ensure they have the talent that firms require. Gone are the days when our education ends at 21, we need to be thinking about constantly learning and adapting throughout our working lives.

“Human skills that cannot be replicated by a computer will become increasingly important to our society, such as creative roles and those requiring empathy, problem solving, communication and listening skills. While many are talking about a lack of talent in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, it is difficult to predict whether all jobs in future are actually going to be centred around software engineering. The skills most likely to become most valuable are soft skills. 

“The younger generations are now much more savvy with technology and it is likely that the jobs that Generation Z will perform don’t even exist yet.”