UP to a third of all jobs could be taken by robots and automation by the mid-2030s according to a report by PwC.
More than 5,500 workers in the UK were part of a global study of 200,000 over 29 countries were involved, with women amongst those likely to be hardest hit in the job market.
PwC’s ‘Will Robots Really Take Our Jobs’ analysed the skills and tasks of workers and identified three waves of automation that will develop over the next two decades.
Financial services, women and less well educated men in transport will be those more at risk, as well as those working in retail and manufacturing are under the threat of unemployment.
PwC say that this is because of the type of tasks that can be automated through robotics and artificial intelligence programmes.
The report identifies three ‘waves’ of automation – algorithm, augmentation and autonomy- arriving from the early 2020s with an increasing impact on jobs.
John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC, said: “We don’t believe that automation will lead to mass technological unemployment by the 2030s, any more than it has done in the decades since the digital revolution began.
“Indeed, in the long run, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and their related technologies should not only make a significant contribution of up to 10% of UK GDP, but should also generate enough new jobs to broadly offset the potential job losses associated with automation.
“But we should not be complacent about the coming waves of automation: there will be challenges to many workers to adapt to these changes through enhancing their skills and retraining for new careers in some cases. Governments, businesses, trade unions and educational providers will all have a role to play in helping people through this transition.”
Warehouse jobs, credit scoring, driving, retail and easily automated tasks will leave an educational gap in term of the employability of people, requiring more long term planning.
Euan Cameron, UK Artificial Intelligence leader at PwC, said: “Our research shows that the impact from automation and AI will be felt in waves, with more routine and data tasks hit first. But just because businesses and people aren’t feeling the impacts right now, there is no excuse not to start planning for the future.
“AI technology is getting more sophisticated every day and businesses need to understand how, where and when their people are likely to be affected in the future. Those that understand the risks and opportunities can start upskilling their people and adapting their businesses, rather than simply reacting when it’s too late.”