Automation in industries

Automation in industries

Introduction

The world today is changing at a rate never seen before. Technology is changing very fast, and for people to embrace it, they need to update themselves on how to use the technology. Automation is affecting every industry, requiring fewer people to work in those industries. The system where a person used to get all the education they can early on in their lives and work with just incremental learning along the way is long gone. There is a need for continuous training to maintain a job and prepare for new opportunities that will be created in the future.

Automation in industries

Technology has eased the way we work, and enterprises are the primary beneficiaries due to automation. With automation, the work done by humans reduces, causing unemployment to the people who used to work in the departments that automation has been implemented. Early this year, AT&T said it planned to save $1.5 billion in labor-related costs this year alone (Kapko, 2020). Hundreds of workers will get laid off, and one reason behind such a decision is automation. For the past six years, AT&T has been implementing automation in its core network business, and now that the networks are in place, they no longer need the people working in such sectors. This will render hundreds of employees jobless in the foreseeable future. Such employees, if they do not change their careers or gain new knowledge and skills in the same field, may not get another job in a different company since their skills may be irrelevant in today’s word.

Continuous education is essential to take on the opportunities that will be created in the near future. Some jobs, mostly in technology, never existed some five years ago, and the people who studied and prepared for them are reaping all the benefits. Cloud computing is the best example. Many enterprises started using the cloud in the past four years, and the trend climaxed only last year, in 2019. This means that the people who studied cloud computing in advance are earning higher salaries than other employees who rely on traditional methods for working. Since cloud services have been in existence for a short period, there is a shortage of people with such skills, and the job is many making the little pool of qualified talent earn high salaries than their counterparts. Areas such as blockchain are emerging, and in some years to come, blockchain specialists will be the most demanded work in the coming years.

Industries are continually evolving, and sometimes the work that they offer changes or competitors come up with a new way of doing the same job, leaving many people jobless. For instance, the mobile and digital banking we are currently using daily have made banking easier. With digital banking, tellers are no longer needed, and many are getting laid off since more people prefer to do all banking transactions on digital platforms. Tellers who get laid off need to go back to school and learn other courses, since that work is being taken over by digital platforms. Without learning new skills, tellers who lost their jobs will remain jobless, and for those who are still working, there is no job security for them.

A college education is not giving people the practical skills it is required to provide, making them either learn more on their own or take jobs that do not require a college education (The Economist, 2017). Many college graduates find themselves with a certificate and knowledge that is no longer useful in the job market. Such graduates feel frustrated, but the best strategy is to do certifications and short courses to increase their marketability (The Economist, 2017). For graduates who do not want to continue learning, the only option is to take on jobs that do not require a college education, making those jobs competitive for those without a college education. High-school graduates competing with college graduates for low-paying jobs end up thinking of upgrading their education to compete favorably with their college counterparts. Both scenarios show how continuous learning is vital in careers today.

With the constant changes in the working environment, one skill that employers are looking for is a person who takes learning seriously. Learning in itself is a skill, and people who possess that ability are in high demand since they can adapt fast in a dynamic environment. Also, the emergence of online learning is a testament to the need for continuous learning in life. Pluralsight, edx, udacity thrive because people have realized the obligation to update their knowledge continually, and employers are looking for a way to retrain their staff to deal with changes.

Conclusion

Changes today are forcing people to rethink their careers, and the best and only way to deal with changes, especially in the working environment, is to learn continuously. Lifelong learning is becoming a necessity in our world. Days, when one would get an education and take a backseat in learning, are long gone. New products are changing how work is done, sometimes making some jobs obsolete, and new technologies require people with skills to implement the technologies. It is time to embrace lifelong learning.

References

The Economist (2017, January 14). Learning and Earning. Special Report: Lifelong Education. The Economist website: https://www.economist.com/sites/default/files/learning_and_earning.pdf

Kapko, M (2020, January 29). AT&T Employees Pay Price for SDN. Sdxcentral website: https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/att-employees-pay-price-for-sdn/2020/01/