Impact of Technology on Jobs Market and Educational Practices

Technology and more specifically digital technology have invaded in almost every sphere of people’s lives worldwide. Many studies have highlighted that technological progresses have led to better labour market incomes, generated more and newer jobs, and have amplified the way works are being done. At the same time, the growing impact of technology, like automation (i.e. computers taking up works done by humans) have resulted in risking people’s jobs - as high as 49 percent of workforces are in high risk of losing jobs to computers. They include real estate brokers, loan officers, insurance underwriters, telemakers etc. Another 19 percent are in moderate risk of losing their works and they include Economists, computer programmers, commercial pilots, chemical technicians, personal financial advisors etc. As high as 33 percent of them are at low risk of losing their works and include, aerospace engineers, fashion designers, landscape architects, air traffic controllers etc. This descriptive essay reviews research studies on the impact of technology on jobs and suggests measures for improving education provisions that meet the changes arising out of technological transformations in labour market.

Research on Impacts of Technology on Jobs

Sustainable Development Agenda of 2030 has embraced people and planet together at the centre of its’ focus for sustainable development. Technology has knock-on effects on employment, the nature of jobs and the labour market. UNDP observes that digital technologies such as robots, information and communication technologies (ICT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), together with the breakthroughs they are facilitating such as cloud technology, Internet of Things, machine learning, crowd-sourcing, the ‘sharing’ and ‘circular’ economy are the key driver of economic growth – improving labour productivity, lowering transaction costs, and revamping barriers to market entry. Deming and Noray in their study on earning dynamics in the context of changing job skills found that technological changes increase relative demand for educated workers which leads to rising wage inequality. Using employment data between 2007-2019, the study finds that many job ads in 2019 required skills that did not exist or were highly infrequent in 2007. Similarly, some skills required in 2007 became obsolete by 2019. In other word, digital transformation in employment has amplified the need for new and innovative soft technical skills to accomplish on-job activities in better and innovative ways using information technologies.

Deloitte (2020) mapped the global human capital trends for 2030 and observed that technology invaded the workplaces shifting the workplace demographics tremendously. The emergence of revolutionary technologies such as AI could now beat humans at task ranging from recognizing traffic signs to answering trivial questions. Cloud is transforming business models by offering organizations a lower cost of entry, faster speed to solutions, and greater adaptability. Cascio and Montealegre illustrated the impact of technology on work, work systems and organizations using four pillars of technologies, i.e. electronic monitoring systems, robots, teleconferencing, and wearable computing devices. OECD in its report on digital transformation and the jobs estimated that 14 percent workers face high risk that their tasks will be automated and another 32 percent face major changes in the tasks required in their jobs and consequently the skills they would need to do their job. Though the newer forms of technology penetration in labour markets creates many new productive and rewarding forms of works and jobs, this have also led to disappearing of several kinds of jobs and would continue to do so in the future. This ‘creative destruction’ implies that more and more people will find themselves unwanted by the labour markets that are increasingly technology driven. However, OECD observes that between 2006 and 2016, four out of ten new jobs in the OECD were created in highly digital-intensive sectors and total employment in the OECD increased by about 30 million jobs. Guinness, Pouliakas and Redmind in their analysis of skill-displacing technological change (SDT) and its impact on jobs found that 16 percent of adult workers in the EU are impacted by SDT, with significant variance across countries, ranging from a high of 28 percent in Estonia, to below seven percent in Bulgaria. The study also presents evidence of SDT as associated with dynamic upskilling of workers and positive effect of automating technology to the task content and skills complexity of the jobs of the incumbent workers. Moreover, the study found that SDT predominantly affects higher-skilled workers, reinforcing inequalities in upskilling opportunities within workplaces. Workers affected by SDT also experience greater job insecurity. World Bank in its World Development Report observed that the future of work is driven by the competing forces of automation and innovation less about robot-induced unemployment. With advances of technology in workforces, many firms and companies tend to automate replacing labour with machines in production. The report suggests that attempt to predict the number of jobs that technology may create or destroy, focusing instead on the changing nature of the firm, its impact on skills and the terms on which people work, and how government policy should be reoriented in response.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its’ report on technology and future of work observed unprecedented growth in labour income due to technology penetration, but it has also been a source of disruption. Technology has increased automation thereby accelerating the extent to which capital can technically substitute for labor. The impact of technology is also quite prominent observed in the relative falling of prices of capital goods which encourages the replacement of labor for a given degree of substitutability. Technology is also at the centre of causing skill mismatches – people with traditional and obsolete skills find it increasingly difficult to compete for technological skill oriented jobs in labour markets. Skill mismatches will have to be overcome by investment in human capital especially for low-income households. While a significant shift in technology requires adjustment across all skill levels, adjustment will likely be more difficult and costly for the low-skilled. World Bank in its WDR 2018 put it very clearly, with the increasing penetration of digital technology in every spheres of human life, their impact on jobs varies dramatically across countries. Eighty-five percent of the population worldwide now has access to electricity. Digital technologies penetrate most corners of the world, with one mobile phone subscription per person globally, and 4 in 10 persons connected to the internet. With rising computing power, combined with the connectivity and informational value of the internet, digital technologies are taking on more tasks. The impact of technology on jobs in rich countries would mean that close to 9 percent of the jobs could currently be automated. The impact of technology on jobs would be more incremental in case of low-income countries where technology penetration is much lower. High-end technologies also demand people with higher educational qualifications with technological skills, paid higher salary and hence creating further wage inequalities. Bakhshi et al. in their research on the future of skills – employment in 2030 acknowledged the recent debates on the future of jobs focusing on whether or not they are at risk of automation. The study observes certain kind of dynamics in different parts of labour market due to technological progresses. They found that the social sector occupations such as health, education and wider public sector are likely to grow while low-skilled jobs such as construction and agriculture are less likely to suffer as move towards 2030. Skills such as interpersonal skills, higher-order cognitive skills and systems skills are likely to be in greater demand. Technological changes have led to perennial fears about the impact of automation on employment. It is estimated that in future, automation impact ranges from 47 percent of US employment at risk to only 9 percent.

Implications for Education Provisions

Increasingly, educational practices are driven by the penetration of educational technologies. From widening access to online education to quality assurance and governance and management of education, technology is playing pivotal roles in shaping the education systems. Many countries’ education systems are adapting to newer forms of technologies to reach out to students and teachers, and adapting to curricular practices driven by technology. The education systems should be digitally equipped to empower people with a mix of skills to succeed in a digital world of work. This will include providing massive training, making students technology savvy and help developing technological soft skills. Given the changes and fragility involved in demand for technological skills with change in work environment and culture influenced by technological transformations, government’s should develop new standards to recognise the skills acquired through lifelong learning, develop digital tools to assist in re- and up- skilling, encourage participation in technical skill development programmes through targeted incentives, and share the financial burden of scaling up adult learning systems.

Conclusion

Given the technological transformation and the extent of its’ penetration in almost every spheres of human life, education systems worldwide are paced with challenges and prospects of using technologies to advance education, skill and knowledge among its’ people. Technology can play a key role in widening access to education and skills through online education such as MOOCs. However, the real test for the education system lies in preparing students for 21st century technological skills along with other basic and functional skills to lead a better quality of life.

References

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3. Bessen, J. E. (2015). Learning by Doing: The Real Connection between Innovation, Wages, and Wealth. Yale University Press.
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5. World Economic Forum. (2018). The Future of Jobs Report 2018. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2018