Tag: academic

Companies are mitigating labour shortages with automation — and this could drastically impact workers

Companies are mitigating labour shortages with automation — and this could drastically impact workers

The pandemic and the aging population are both partially responsible for the current labour shortage. Geraint Harvey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Last month, unemployment in Canada reached a record low of 5.2 per cent . Alongside low unemployment, many industries saw — and are still seeing — a worker shortage, with the number of job vacancies in Canada reaching 900,000 in January.

Both of these things are good for workers, right?Prospective employers, […]

Education at the forefront of India’s rising complexity

Education at the forefront of India’s rising complexity

Economist Ricardo Hausmann suggests that prosperity arises from economic complexity and economic development is like a game of Scrabble. The private sector provides the letters (more of which enable more and longer words), and the government provides the vowels. Higher wages for workers arise from more words (more firms competing for talent), longer words (high-productivity firms and sectors) and more vowels (effective public goods). We make the case that our economic complexity, popularly associated with 5 million software jobs, will leap in the next five years as 12 million new jobs in engineering, telecom and healthcare combine with the […]

Artificial intelligence may take your job. Some lessons from my grandmother

Artificial intelligence may take your job. Some lessons from my grandmother

Siblings on the way to school. Bradley Hastings does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

My grandmother, Claire Hastings, was born in the 1920s on a farm in Armidale, northern New South Wales. That was a relatively common thing, with just 43% of the population living in cities, compared with more than 70% now .

She lived in a small wooden hut, with a chicken coop out the front and fields out the back. When […]

New study reveals how AI will change future workplaces

New study reveals how AI will change future workplaces

Researchers say artificial intelligence is becoming a new general-purpose technology that will be as impactful on the economy as the steam engine, electricity, and the internet. And the influence of AI will change the structure of businesses, creating a future workplace that empowers junior workers as it cuts middle management positions.

The researchers used millions of jobs ads and resumes to assess the stock of current employees and the demand for new ones.

Firms using AI are also becoming less top-heavy, flatter , and have higher shares of employees in entry-level and non-management roles and fewer employees in middle management or […]

Companies need to embrace an innovative path to create new employment opportunities

Companies need to embrace an innovative path to create new employment opportunities

McDonald’s has incentivized workers to join the company, even as it tests AI-enabled drive-thru technology. Inflation will remain elevated this year, bolstered by low labor participation.

Corporate America needs to get creative with sustainable paths to upward mobility for Americans.

This article is part of the "Financing a Sustainable Future" series exploring how companies take step s to set and fund sustainable goals. Get a daily selection of our top stories based on your reading preferences. Something is loading. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner […]

How the Rise of Labor Market Power Helps Explain the Fall of US Manufacturing Employment

How the Rise of Labor Market Power Helps Explain the Fall of US Manufacturing Employment

Cars on production line in factory. Photo by alvarez, via Getty Images A new working paper explores the increase in labor market power in the US and what’s driving it. It shows manufacturing workers were paid their competitive value in 1972, but only about 50 cents on the dollar by 2014, pointing to technological change as the key driver.

Does antitrust have a labor market problem? The last few years have seen growing interest among academic scholars in the causes and effects of concentration in US labor markets. Concurrently (and not unrelated), there has been an explosion of interest […]

World Braille Day 2022: Screen-readers, customised apps, HR automation bring some hope to visually impaired

World Braille Day 2022: Screen-readers, customised apps, HR automation bring some hope to visually impaired

With the advent of modern technology, the visually impaired can do numerous things such as write documents, browse the internet and send/receive emails. Inclusivity has emerged as the key aspect of development worldwide. The world is looking at making the fruits of globalisation and progress equitable for all. And the discussion has moved far beyond race and colour. Scientists, researchers and thought leaders are collaborating to create opportunities for those who are visually impaired .

Vision impairment affects people of all ages. Globally, at least a billion people have near or distance vision impairment that could have been prevented or […]

If the UK is to escape cheap labour using automation, it’ll need more than just Ocado robots

If the UK is to escape cheap labour using automation, it’ll need more than just Ocado robots

According to research from analytics firm GlobalData, the robotics industry was worth $45.3bn in 2020. Researchers forecast a compound annual growth rate of 29% and expansion to $568bn in the year 2030. But where does UK automation fit into this picture? And how important to it is grocery tech company Ocado, rated by GlobalData as the leading British brand for robotics in a recent report on robotics?

One piece of data behind the robotics boom is declining fertility rates, which is definitely a relevant issue for the UK. Data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) shows the top 20 […]

Rockwell Automation and Cisco partner on New Manufacturing Training Program

Rockwell Automation and Cisco partner on New Manufacturing Training Program

Automation is often viewed as a means of helping manufacturers cope with both domestic labor shortages and higher costs without losing their competitive edge. However, while the integration of automated technologies has eliminated some need for unskilled labor, it has created an increased need for skilled labor.

Remedying this situation isn’t merely a task for manufacturers themselves. Doing so is also in the best interest of technology suppliers, as adoption of their products often hinges on whether end users have access to a skilled workforce capable of working in a highly automated environment.

These mutual interests have led to an […]

Three Guiding Principles to Address Job Loss Anxiety Related to Automation

Three Guiding Principles to Address Job Loss Anxiety Related to Automation

Three Guiding Principles to Address Job Loss Anxiety Related to-01 Automation does not necessarily mean job loss. Companies should try to foster a culture of continuous, lifelong learning, including training/apprenticeships and job rotations, in order to better prepare their employees for a digital future.

Many people are concerned that automation would exacerbate the economic disruption caused by the pandemic. Automation has changed employment and pay structures in the years since the Industrial Revolution, but it has also produced more jobs over time. In fact, the World Economic Forum’s “ The Future of Jobs Report 2020 ” predicts that 97 […]