SOUTH AFRICA – According to the international team of experts that worked on the Atlas of Emerging Jobs‚ around 57 professions are expected to die out completely by 2030. Approximately 200 new professions we’ve barely heard of will be in existence‚ or will be far more competitive than they are now.
A three-day discussion forum is being held at Cape Town Stadium. The topic under discussion is: What are the implications of the fourth industrial revolution for industry‚ society and education?’ Working towards a career and employment are a major part of the topic being discussed.
The first industrial revolution brought water and steam power‚ which increased production. The second one brought electric power‚ this enabled mass production‚ while the third one introduced automated production through electronics and information technology.
This time round, we’re heading into the fourth one what are we likely to expect from it?
“More customised production‚ and a fusion of technologies that blurs the lines between the physical‚ digital‚ and biological spheres‚” according to the organisers at the Cape Town discussion.
Many benefits are expected from the coming revolution, however it may result in numerous job cuts resulting in anxiety over this. The issue of skills went hand in hand with any discussion on the latest industrial revolution, CSIR strategy manager Daniel Visser said.
“A lot of up-skilling is going to be needed‚ and you will still have to be a specialist within your sector but you will increasingly need to understand how your work affects other fields or disciplines‚ and vice versa‚” he said.
By 2030 many white collar jobs are expected to fall away. These jobs include jobs such as; those of accountants‚ quantity surveyors‚ credit managers‚ statisticians and shorthand typists. Additionally jobs such as estate agents‚ travel agents‚ tour guides‚ analysts‚ system administrators and control room operators, copywriters‚ proofreaders‚ photo editors‚ journalists‚ lecturers‚ archivists and librarians‚ then add to that: pharmacist‚ stunt performer‚ legal adviser‚ sports analyst and secretary are expected to be affected too.
Oxford University‚ which also studied which jobs were most likely to be automated by 2030‚ earmarked 12 out of 700 occupations that were facing automation the soonest. Some of these‚ all of which had a 99% chance of being automated‚ included data capturers‚ new accounts clerks‚ cargo agents‚ watch repairers‚ insurance underwriters‚ hand-sewers‚ telemarketers and tax preparers.
On the other-hand, researchers say‚ there are some jobs that have only a 0.35% chance or less of being automated because “many of them require a level of human interaction that may take many more years for computer programs to replicate”.
Choreographers‚ psychologists‚ HR managers‚ anthropologists‚ archaeologists‚ sales managers and CEOs are safe. Other sustainable jobs to be in or study towards include: recreational therapists‚ audiologists‚ occupational therapists‚ healthcare social workers‚ orthotists and prosthetists‚ mental health and substance abuse social workers‚ emergency management directors‚ and first-line supervisors of mechanics‚ installers and repairers.
-Times Live
