Robot workers replacing human jobs — the debate of the decade. In reality, however, the opposite looks true. ManpowerGroup’s report “Humans Wanted: Robots Need You” found that more employers than ever — 87 percent — plan to increase or maintain headcount as a result of automation for the third consecutive year. ManpowerGroup surveyed 19,000 employers in 44 countries on the impact of automation on job growth in the next two years.
Companies that are digitizing are growing, and that growth is producing more and new kinds of jobs. Organizations that are already automating tasks and progressing their digital transformation are most confident of increasing headcount. Global talent shortages are at a 12-year high and new skills are appearing as fast as others disappear. More companies are planning to build talent than ever before, and this trend shows no sign of slowing. Eighty-four percent of employers plan to upskill their workforce by 2020.
“The focus on robots eliminating jobs is distracting us from the real issue,” says Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup chairman and CEO. “More and more robots are being added to the workforce, but humans are, too. Tech is here to stay, and it’s our responsibility as leaders to become Chief Learning Officers and work out how we integrate humans with machines. Learning today cannot be done as it was in the past.”
The “Humans Wanted” report also found that demand for IT skills is growing significantly and with speed; 16 percent of companies expect to increase headcount in IT, five times more than those expecting a decrease. Growth will come in front-line and customer-facing roles, too — all requiring human skills such as communication, negotiation, leadership and adaptability.
The report provides practical recommendations and best practice examples from around the world to help organizations upskill their people and become more agile with the right combination of building, buying, borrowing and bridging talent.
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