Australian Business leaders should take a pre-emptive and strategic approach to address skills gaps in 2020.
The age of automation and AI is often discussed as if it is way in the future and ahead of its time. Androids are typically associated with science fiction, rather than present day Australia. But the statistic is, these technologies have already transformed the way many Australians work and more jobs will change forever in 2020.
The move is already being felt in the recruitment market, where employers are competing over a comparatively small pool of professionals equipped with the cutting-edge skills required for new roles.
Reflecting on the technology space alone. If we hypothesis that Australia could train an additional 110,000 workers over and above current levels over the next five years then this would add around $45 billion in net present value (NPV) terms to gross domestic product (GDP) over the next 20 years.
At the same time, Morshona released a survey of over 24,000 employees across the Australia shows that 62% of Australian adults are worried that automation is putting jobs at risk but generally Australian workers are less likely to be upskilling than their international peers. Only 25% of workers (second least likely across the world behind the UK) are upskilling through their employer. Plainly speaking, Australia has a skills problem.
The skills difference
The difference between the skill set people have and those needed for the digital world is fast becoming one of the globe’s most pressing problems. But when it comes to managing this, Australia lags behind many nations. In yesteryear, the World Economic Forum ranked Australia’s population 23rd in the world for digital skills. And a 2019 report by the Digital Industry Group found that Australia’s ICT sector (as a proportion of GDP) was smaller than all OECD countries.
There is certainly an appreciation among Australians to learn. Morshona survey shows 70% of the workforce are prepared to learn new skills or completely re-educate in order to improve their future employability (this figure jumps to 79% among 18–34 year-olds). However only 25% are currently upskilling through their employer – which places Australia as the second least likely country to have employees’ upskilling at work.
Be a part of the solution
Australian Business leaders cannot leave it to the education industry to solve this problems alone. Employers must initiate now supporting the workforce today in order to adapt to automation, robotics, machine learning and other technological advances. Leaders must also play a part in preparing tomorrow’s work environment by having a conversation with schools and universities to provide educators with a better understanding of what the future of work will be.
Sixty-five percent of Australian adults are worried that automation is putting jobs at risk.
Simultaneously, it is important that Australia’s two million small businesses are not left behind. There is a clear role for government and industry bodies to assist, nonetheless big organisations can contribute too. Working with their supply chain, larger businesses can help small businesses understand the potential of new technologies and how the needs of their sector are changing.
Organisations that fail to rise to this challenge could quickly have their markets (and talent) snatched from them. We leave in a time of increased economic uncertainty, Australian business leaders owe it to their organisations, their people and the wider economy to act.
Here are some of the action that is required to prepare for what the economy may have in stock next year.
Australian Business leaders should be asking five key issues:
Find out about emerging technologies and AI that can make them more streamlined and productive
Building introductory skills across their whole work environment, and what niche skills will be need
Opportunities for them to engage with educators and prioritise the necessary upskilling and training
Ensure their supply chain has the skills to evolve alongside other OECD countries
How do they reliably assist employees to transition to a different organisation, where the business does not have the proper skill set projection
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