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Preparing for Mass Automation

By Admin  |  

1.9 min read

Since the Industrial Revolution, there has been a recurrent fear that technological advancement will result in mass unemployment, as machine’s replace workers

[i]. In the 21st century, this fear has perpetuated the global workforce with the rise of Artificial Intelligence.  Machine’s are demonstrating skills they have never had before: seeing, speaking, hearing, and understanding.  This poses a legitimate threat to many low-skilled jobs.  Self-driving cars will eliminate the need for truck and taxi drivers; systems like Siri™ and IBM Watson™ will be able to do a lot of the work of customer service representatives; and Amazon is looking at drone delivery methods and robotic machines in warehouses that will replace thousands of factory workers[ii].  This unprecedented technological advancement will have significant effects on the global workforce and we need to be prepared.

The Market for Skilled Workers

Artificial Intelligence will not take over the workforce overnight, but we are moving into an economy that is heavy on automation and light on labour. Infusing this technology into the economy will eliminate many low-skilled jobs, but it can also create new high-skilled jobs that will require creativity and innovative thinking; skills that machine’s have been unable to master. Currently, however, only 22% of teacher’s and 28% of policy-makers say that creative problem solving plays a role in school curricula[iii] . To ensure the success of future generations, there must be a collective effort to develop leaders with the right knowledge, skills and abilities to push the economy forward.

Hiring for Agility

In addition to equipping future generations with the right skills, it will be important to create agile and flexible workers that are capable of rapid upskilling.  The PI Cognitive Assessment™, delivered by Predictive Success®, measures an individual’s capacity to learn, adapt, and grasp new concepts in the workplace[iv]. Employee’s with these abilities are key for companies to be competitive.

To learn more about how you can take advantage of the PI Cognitive Assessment™ in your organization, contact us.

 

[i] http://theconversation.com/what-the-industrial-revolution-really-tells-us-about-the-future-of-automation-and-work-82051

[ii] https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_mcafee_what_will_future_jobs_look_like

[iii] https://thejournal.com/articles/2018/03/28/creative-problem-solving-should-be-emphasized-more-in-schools.aspx

[iv] https://www.predictivesuccess.com/cognitive-assessment/

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