Upskilling for a digital world

Upskilling for the digital world has to be part of an organisation’s ecosystem, says Claudine Attard. The world is going through a technological revolution and this is leading to increasing disparity, disrupting jobs and businesses, and threatening the stability of our institutions. Automation, primarily in the form of robotics and artificial intelligence, brings with it the promise of improved productivity and higher profits – but at what cost to employment and, by extension, to society? What responsibility do organisations have to upskill employees who otherwise would be displaced by technology? And what value does upskilling offer an organisation? PwC’s research shows that one in three jobs is likely to be severely disrupted or to disappear in the next decade because of technological change. This could affect almost half of all low-skilled jobs and a third of semi-skilled jobs. The World Economic Forum estimates that it will cost $24,000 per head to upskill displaced US workers, but when set against the alternatives – severance payments for workers who are let go and the cost of finding new workers with in-demand skills, amongst other things – upskilling is the more...