Skilling in the age of robots
As
automation begins to drive more sectors, the ability to adapt to change will be
a crucial job requirement
Some
11 million by 2036 in the UK alone; 5 million worldwide by 2020. These
apocalypse-sounding figures are the estimated number of jobs that will be lost
to automation in the very near future.
Automation
lies at the forefront of the so-called ‘fourth industrial revolution’, a
process whereby the interaction of cyber and physical systems will profoundly
change established economic and social structures. And this will happen on a
scale, size and speed unseen as of now.
The
fourth industrial revolution is upon us, and the big question that everybody
from the World Economic Forum to Raghuram Rajan is asking is about its effect
on employment. Are our policymakers listening?
Relevant and irrelevant skills
The
Prime Minister’s flagship Skill India mission is a laudable programme. A
skilled and trained population is the basis for sustainable long-term growth,
and at present there exists a massive gap between the demands of industry and
skill level of the populace. But what if the skills become redundant within a
few years? Welding. Automobile repair. Basic programming. Entry level
management. Even driving. All jobs that can easily be turned over to robots.
Nasscom
predicts that by 2025, 50 per cent of all IT jobs in India will be lost to
automation, and the downward trend that has already started. To be trained in
redundant skills is to have no skills at all.
We
are preparing our populace for 20th-century jobs. What we need to do is prepare
them for 21st-century jobs. The fourth industrial revolution will make most
current entry and mid-level jobs, in almost every single sector, irrelevant.
The loss of these jobs, however, will be balanced by the creation of a variety
of new jobs, mostly in the high technology, creative or service sectors.
While
at this point it might be too early to forecast all the various kinds of jobs
that may be created in the future, the first step is to acknowledge the fact
that we are behind the times.
A
detailed study is needed to understand the current and projected levels of
automation in various sectors of the economy and the consequent effect on
employment opportunities. While international studies of this nature do exist,
there is no specific study yet for India.
The
conclusions of the studies that do exist can be reduced to two major thoughts.
First,
the job markets of the future will be more volatile and uncertain. Jobs will be
created and destroyed at an exponential rate and any worker would need skills
to cope. Second, an increasing number of jobs will be created in areas such as
services , creatives and high technology, where automation would have a
considerably less impact.
Prepare for the future
To
adequately prepare for this scenario, multiple steps need to be taken. The most
important would be rethinking and restructuring our education systems. The
future being unpredictable, we need to inculcate cognitive flexibility among
our children. The idea is not to train them for a particular job but to enable
them to deal with the ever-changing nature of jobs. Adopting design-thinking
principles may help students better cope.
Here
one can take guidance from the Partnership for 21st Century Learning, which has
outlined ‘21st Century Student Outcomes’ — evaluating skills that students
would need. While some outcomes are related to traditional subjects such as
science, mathematics and languages, and inter-disciplinary themes, others focus
on learning and innovation skills such as creativity, critical thinking,
communication and collaboration; ICT and media literacy; and life and career
skills such as flexibility and adaptability. Taken together, these are
skills that do not necessarily train students for a particular kind of job,
especially given the fact that the very nature of jobs would change through
their years of schooling. India’s education system, needs to be overhauled to
reflect these outcomes.
The
old cliché that change is the only constant has never been truer than now.
While the Government is taking welcome strides in addressing current skills
issues, it must also prepare the populace to cope with constant change.
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior
Manager @ Library
Khaitan
& Co
Note | If anybody use these post for forwarding in any social media coverage
or covering in the Newsletter please give due credit to those who are taking
efforts for the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment