There is a common misconception that advancing of technical innovations and robotics will have a negative impact on employment and apprenticeship opportunities. While they will certainly have an effect, a new report from recruitment firm Hays suggests it will change job descriptions rather than simply replace.
Hays CEO Alistair Cox believes that robots have the upper hand in relation to repetitive motions and basic data analytics, but humans will still be in control.
“The more sensationalist headlines predict the demise of the human worker. The more sensible do point to the opportunity for advanced robotics to unleash a massive wave of productivity improvements, akin to the impact of the original Industrial Revolution,” he said.
Mr Cox described a number of reasons why businesses will still need to hire apprentices and open up job opportunities. His main point was that people and their skills become a premium when technology is always changing.
“We must all be aware that technology can be replicated by your competitors but your people can’t,” he explained.
“We should therefore look at robots not as a threat, but as a means of freeing up time, increasing capacity and productivity and ultimately allowing businesses to focus on the human side of what they do.”
Creating innovative job opportunities
Technology and robotics might be the future for many industries, but there is another side of this argument as Director for the Information and Intelligent Systems Division at the National Science Foundation Lynne Parker explained in a 2015 Tech Insider article.
“Look at the number of jobs that have been created by the intelligent software industry – it’s a huge number of jobs,” she said.
“Even if certain jobs might be lost to certain advances in AI, many more have been created through the whole industry.”
Learning basic skills in technology and robotics could be the launchpad for a successful career in the world moving forward. This is where Apprenticeship Central can be of assistance.
The value of Apprenticeship Central
The technology sector in particular is an industry that is growing by the year. With a myriad of opportunities or career paths, it can be tricky to pinpoint the best way.
Through services such as the Harrison Career Assessment, you can gain valuable insight into the career prospects and what apprenticeship skills could be useful in the years ahead.
For more information about starting an apprenticeship to build your skills for a changing world, feel free to get in contact with us today.
