Disappearance of mid-skill jobs - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

Disappearance of mid-skill jobs - Viewpoint - careers advice blog The rate at which technology is advancing is having a deep impact on the world of work. Whether through the increased need for new skills, in which supply cannot keep pace with demand, or through automation, which is leaving many workers with skills that are no longer relevant â€" the implications for businesses and workers are far-reaching. One phenomenon that we have seen occurring for several years now is the disappearance of mid-skilled jobs, which is leading to a hollowing out of the labour market and creating an ‘hour glass’ economy. This has seen more high- and low-skill roles being created than mid-skill, and research shows that this is happening at an alarming rate. We first examined this nearly a decade ago and more recently in the latest Hays Global Skills Index, a report examining the trends in 34 of the world’s largest labour markets. What we found is that little has changed over the years to stem the tide, recent research of ours found almost nine in ten employers in the UK have experienced skills shortages in the last year. Worryingly, we see this as an issue that is set to continue as many mid-skilled jobs are under threat, not just in manufacturing but in services industries too. Automation allows machines to complete many routine tasks and increasingly non-routine tasks, meaning the roles which used to occupy this space are no longer in demand and over time will become redundant. While new roles will be created in their place, these will likely be at different skill levels and in different industries. And where roles are not totally eliminated but many of their inherent tasks are automated, the tasks and skills of the employee remaining in that role may still need to evolve significantly. Technology has also lowered the cost of international communication between businesses and workforces, allowing for production processes to be offshored to the most cost-effective location. This practice takes many mid-skilled jobs away from the developed world, further exacerbating the issue. Alongside this there are negative implications for wages, as mid-skilled employees are being pushed into lower skilled roles, leaving over-qualified professionals working in lower-tier positions. This is forcing those in lower skilled jobs into underemployment â€" where they are still employed but not working as many hours as they would like â€" which in turn leads to lower wages. As a recruiter, many of the roles we are filling today did not exist until recent years, especially in the technology space where demand is growing for new roles such as data scientists or AI experts. However, the demand for these new skills is not matched by the supply. Businesses are struggling to compete for these skilled professionals, so logically there must be an opportunity to upskill those in mid-skilled roles to help meet demand. Businesses must take on the responsibility of upskilling their employees by providing the necessary training but also accepting that they may lose some of those talented individuals along the way, and not allowing this to be a deterrent to increasing their employee’s skill base, and, in turn, employability. Workers must realise that learning doesn’t stop with college or university and that lifelong learning is essential to remain relevant and successful in today’s world of work. Ultimately, we need to create a society where it’s considered normal to continue upskilling throughout your career. After all, the lessons learned yesterday may not always be applicable in today’s world. The upskilling of professionals is both beneficial to the employee and employer, whereby the worker makes themselves more employable and the business reaps the rewards of their skills. Governments also have a part to play by incentivising businesses to train their staff. At the end of the day, it is in the best interests of everyone to have a workforce that is running at full capacity and an economy that isn’t in short supply of any particular skills. There is a real opportunity to achieve this through on the job training schemes, such as apprenticeships. Unfortunately, the Apprenticeship Levy is currently not working and could in fact be making Britains skills shortages worse. Many employers have either cut or frozen workplace training since the Levy was introduced in 2017 to compensate for the additional cost burden the Levy brought. In my opinion, the Levy is in need of a fundamental redesign to fit the modern workplace, so that business leaders can get behind it and start to plug the skills gaps we are witnessing today. It’s important that we recognise that automation does not replace entire jobs, it replaces tasks. This evolution in the world of work will not stop. Individuals must understand what to do to ensure their skills stay up-to-date. At the same time, businesses and governments need to properly recognise the roles they play to encourage upskilling. Because if they don’t implement the necessary policies to encourage skills growth in their own workforce, they risk lagging behind in the search for new talent in our rapidly evolving world of work. This article was originally published by The Telegraph on 23rd October 2019. You can find more workplace advice and insight from  Hays CEO, Alistair Cox, below: Five of the best ways to be less busy all of the time Why you need to stop being so busy, now How to help your employees to be more successful This important mindset will make you more successful Is your team addicted to work?