Tag: Technology

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 […]

Will automation kill South African jobs? No, say new studies

Will automation kill South African jobs? No, say new studies

South Africa: in need of speeding-up economic productivity with more innovation. Photo: Credit: Arne Hoel/World Bank The 4th Industrial Revolution is here: driverless cars, 3-D printing, and Artificial Intelligence are the future. These innovations deliver the promise of better and more convenient lives to many. But they also disrupt the way in which we used to do things, including the way we work.

It is true that automation is a threat to many jobs, especially the unskilled ones more easily be replaced by machines and computers. In South Africa, unemployment stands at 27.7%—or 36.6% when including those who have given […]

Stifling Innovation in San Francisco

Stifling Innovation in San Francisco

San Francisco is home to some of the most successful technology companies, to the point that the city could be called the cradle of innovation. Even as companies headquartered in San Francisco develop new technologies or novel products, some of the city’s bureaucrats have recently expressed support for policies that would hinder further innovation.

City supervisor Norman Yee wants to prohibit food delivery robots, citing concerns about space and potential lost delivery jobs. His push goes in the opposite direction of some other jurisdictions that have made efforts to create a framework that would encourage pilot demonstrations and further developments […]

Why skills and education are the real robot battleground

Why skills and education are the real robot battleground

This has been a record-breaking year for industrial robotics, says the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) of the US.

In total, over 19,000 industrial robots worth $1 billion were sold in North America alone during the first half of 2017, the highest ever number of orders for the region. The figures reveal a one-third year-on-year increase in shipments for the first two quarters, and a 26% surge in spending.

Orders grew most in the automotive sector, which saw a 39% increase in purchases. Globally, the automotive robotics market is set to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.74 per […]

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 , […]

What future-proof jobs can you train for now that won’t be threatened by the rise of robots?

What future-proof jobs can you train for now that won't be threatened by the rise of robots?

With the rise of automation, artificial intelligence and the use of robots in the workforce, what future-proof jobs can you train for now?

It is estimated that up to 60 per cent of Australian students are training for jobs that will not exist in the future or will be significantly transformed by automation , and future generations have been warned they may have to change careers five times over their working lives as a result.

But thankfully there are courses of study that still have a bright future; one of those is cyber security.Associate Professor Paul Haskell-Dowland is training hundreds of […]

Think You Have Your Career All Figured Out? Think Again

Think You Have Your Career All Figured Out? Think Again

Shutterstock As you’re probably aware, the industry you’re currently working in could be at risk due to the future of technology.

These technological advancements will change job descriptions and roles in the workplace, and some positions may become obsolete. However, nothing will happen overnight. According to research , 47% of U.S. employment and professions are at risk. You can go to this website and enter your current or anticipated profession and see what the risks are and what the future growth will be.

In my many years as a career transitions coach, I’ve assisted thousands of multi-level and multi-functional professionals in […]

TECH EXPERT: People who fear robots taking their jobs ‘lack imagination’

TECH EXPERT: People who fear robots taking their jobs 'lack imagination'

Dr Catherine Ball. (Source: Vivid Sydney, supplied) There’s been much talk about whether the rise of intelligent robots, machine learning and artificial intelligence has the potential for social and economic unrest, by leaving millions or even billions of humans without jobs.

Oxford University professor of globalisation and former World Bank vice president Ian Goldin told Business Insider in May that emerging technologies could trigger a “rapid widening of inequality” as many groups find it increasingly difficult to secure “decent jobs”.

However, one tech expert disagrees with this view – and says those that are anxious for their jobs have an irrational […]

Looking Out: The future we can’t ignore

Nesi Alteras self-driving cars Industrial Revolution automation computer programs Steve Mnuchin unemployment insurance universal basic income 40-hour workweek There are currently multiple companies that have created computer programs capable of replacing a team of lawyers and paralegals with a computer program and a few lawyers. There are firms that are testing programs capable of doing project management jobs in many contexts. You have probably unwittingly read a newspaper article written by a bot . Self-driving cars are not a fantasy or a product of science fiction: they are here, driving around Pittsburgh and from coast to coast .

This is […]

Manufacturing needs workers with multi-disciplinary skills

Manufacturing needs workers with multi-disciplinary skills

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.

The manufacturing sector, which makes up one-fifth of the Singapore economy, grew 8.1% year-on-year in the second quarter after growing 8.5% in the first.Employment has been […]