Job Creation and Labour Market: ICT

(asked on 30th September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) medium and (b) long-term effect of automation on (i) the labour market and (ii) new job creation.


Answered by
Paul Scully Portrait
Paul Scully
This question was answered on 9th October 2020

The Government is continuing to monitor the impact of automation on the labour market. The World Economic Forum estimate that robots will replace 75 million jobs globally between 2018 and 2022 but create 133 million new ones – a “net positive”.

We are committed to capitalising on this opportunity. The launch of the Robotics Growth Partnership will support our national ambition to put the UK at the cutting edge of the smart robotics revolution, turbo-charging economic productivity and unlocking benefits across society.

The Government also recognises that demand for skills will continue to change, in part in response to automation. We have committed to improving the UK's system for training in digital skills, ensuring that working people have the support they need to navigate the challenge of automation to a higher-wage future. This includes fully funding adults to take their first full level 3 qualification and a new entitlement to flexible loans over a lifetime, boosting opportunities to retrain and enhancing the nation’s technical skills.

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