Tag: Services

Inside Labour: Will it be man vs machine in a frightening future?

Inside Labour: Will it be man vs machine in a frightening future?

I RECENTLY saw again the future of retail – and it works. At the same time, it frightens me. The same applies to many of the observed developments, especially in the service industries, along with the decline in trade union membership across the world.

These issues came starkly into focus during more than a month spent in Britain after a two-year absence. While Britain – and London in particular – may not be at the cutting edge of retail, it is a good guide to where countries such as South Africa are heading.

The spread of self-service is most evident, even […]

U.S. Textiles: Have No Fear, Automation Is Here

U.S. Textiles: Have No Fear, Automation Is Here

Switzerland-based Stäubli is a mechatronics provider with three dedicated activities: Connectors, Robotics and Textile. Automation continues to assist the growth of U.S. manufacturing.

By James Borneman, Editor In Chief

A common thread in recent investments in the U.S. textile industry seems to be the effectiveness of automation and process control in making the United States a globally competitive manufacturing destination. Many announcements cite four factors driving investment in U.S. textiles — superior cotton supply chain, relatively inexpensive and dependable energy supply, highly educated labor force that can handle automation, and good transportation infrastructure including ports and roads.The automation […]

Study: 60% of workforce will be independent by 2027

Study: 60% of workforce will be independent by 2027

Dive Brief:

MBO Partners, a service provider for the self-employed, predicts in a report that 60% of the workforce will be independent professionals by 2027.

The research also predicts that: independent work will be cyclical, with professionals switching back and forth between employment and independent work to gain new skills; independent workers will be concentrated in either the very high-paying or very low-paying ends of the "gig" spectrum; organizations will focus on the results "gig" workers provide and not their labor; and independent workers will team up to provide services. As technology continues to evolve, researchers predict that […]

INSIGHTS Finally Oracle

INSIGHTS Finally Oracle

Future Digital Finance West | Dec 4-5 | Phoenix, AZ
Hear 30+ digital finance leaders who are transforming the industry address omni and mobile banking strategies, customer-centric digital innovation and emerging fintech that solves real customer problems. 25% discount available to finance execs. A WBR Event. View agenda and learn more.

Oracle showed some very good numbers in its latest earnings announcement. As it begins its second year of aggressive cloud promotion, the company overall is showing significant year-over-year improvements, thanks to its turn to cloud infrastructure, applications and platforms. Yet when read right, the numbers announce the […]

Can robots coexist with humans?

Can robots coexist with humans?

Working together: will robots be central to our future? Katie Dolamore

With advances in artificial intelligence forging ahead, it’s time to think seriously about how we see robots fitting into our society.

Of all the tech trends dominating headlines at the moment, artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be generating the most debate.As we continue to develop this technology – at a seemingly exponential rate – we face increasing pressure to examine the role we really want it to fulfil, and how it should be integrated.With many high-profile figures – from Stephen Hawking to Elon Musk – warning of […]

Unemployment Is So 2009: Labor Shortage Gives Workers an Edge

Unemployment Is So 2009: Labor Shortage Gives Workers an Edge

A worker monitoring an embroidery sewing machine at a mattress factory in New Jersey. Is a new golden age for the American worker around the corner?

For the last couple of years, workers’ median earnings have been rising on a sustained path not seen in years.

This may come as a surprise after decades of wage stagnation, when the good jobs of an earlier industrial era — in which workers could go straight from high school to a lifelong place on the factory floor, with a pension on the other end — have largely disappeared, replaced in many cases by work […]

Why international trade matters for Illinois

Why international trade matters for Illinois

Illinois will need more foreign investment, and major reforms to the state’s business climate, in order to get off the weak economic path it now treads.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has just returned from an eight-day trip to Japan and China – his administration’s first international trade mission.

Illinoisans should hope the governor can help bring international job creators and investment to the state to stimulate a lackluster employment picture. Rather than being a burden on Illinois families, international trade has largely served as a blessing, and has the potential to jumpstart the Land of Lincoln’s sluggish growth. State of the state […]

Singapore embraces ‘activist approach’ to change

Singapore embraces ‘activist approach’ to change

Tharman blasts HR in Budget attack on ageism HR leaders have been urged by Deputy PM Tharman Shanmugaratnam to stop their “unstated discrimination” against older workers looking for jobs.

Are you asking illegal interview questions? Have you ever asked a job applicant how old they are? If you have, you might be breaking the law. A leading Singapore employment lawyer looks at which interview questions could land you in hot water.

Singapore must embrace change to face the twin challenges of global population aging and relentless technology, said the second minister for Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower , […]

How Singapore is preparing for jobs of the future

How Singapore is preparing for jobs of the future

Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Manpower and Home Affairs, spoke on Jobs of 2037 at the Milken Institute Asia Summit yesterday:

Future-gazing is an inherently risky enterprise.

Before 1997, who would have thought Asia was headed for a financial crisis? Just three years later, the dot.com bubble burst almost as quickly as it built up. I remember the shock of the Sept 11 attacks the following year, and the terrifying Sars epidemic of 2003.In more recent times, we’ve witnessed a global financial crisis, the Arab Spring and the Brexit vote.None of these […]

Raising Wages to Help Workers Could Actually Help Robots Replace Them

Raising Wages to Help Workers Could Actually Help Robots Replace Them

Jamie Jones/Getty Images Unions and pro-labor groups around the world campaign for higher minimum wages and stronger job-protection laws. Last year, seven U.S. states including California and New York approved future increases in their hourly minimums to $12 or more. Two new economic studies say such changes can also help machines take jobs from human workers.

A working paper distributed by the National Bureau for Economic Research last month leans on historical data to suggest that minimum-wage hikes increase the chances some low-skilled workers will be replaced by machines. A separate study of 14 advanced economies found that the balance […]