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An increasing number of companies are considering an increase in their use of automated technology to fill gaps in their recruitment following Brexit.
At the National Farmers’ Union Conference, the Governments food and rural affairs secretary, Andrea Leadsom suggested that following Britain’s exit from the EU additional automation could help fill skills gaps left in their diminishing workforce.
Robot fruit picking machines are already used but it has not been economically viable to computerise the whole workforce, however Brexit is starting to challenge this perception. In another sector, for example with Aviva, they have been discussing with staff the possibilities of robots taking roles since 2015 but staff are hoped to remain in other roles throughout the company.
Ellyn Shook, chief leadership and human resources officer at Accenture, said: “The truly human skills, from leadership to creativity, will remain highly relevant, and winning organisations will strike the right balance – leveraging the best of technology to elevate, not eliminate, their people.”
In December last year Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, warned that up to 15 million jobs in the UK could be automated over time. Some predict this will be a good thing for people who can take up higher paying roles but it is undoubtable that some will be out of the job with a rapidly shrinking jobs market.
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Link to full article covering this issue on People Management: http://www2.cipd.co.uk/pm/peoplemanagement/b/weblog/archive/2017/02/27/automation-high-on-employers-agenda-as-skills-gaps-set-to-bite.aspx