If you’re worried about the future of your role and how technology is shaping your future, new research from Merchant Machine has revealed the jobs and industries that are most at risk when it comes to automation and which nations are most prepared for it.
Simply put, automation is the use of largely automatic equipment in a process. It has an ability to impact every industry by undertaking the roles that don’t need the unique skills that humans can bring to a role. From the findings, here are the top jobs at risk from automation.
- Waiter / Waitress (73%)
- Stock Assistants (Shelf Fillers) (72%)
- Sales Assistants (71%)
- Food and Drink Servers (70%)
This information might be bad news for a large percentage of the population, especially those in their first jobs or those towards the end of their careers. Those between the ages of 20-24 are at the highest risk of all ages with 16% of their jobs at risk. This will clearly make obtaining your first job and starting to gain work experience even more difficult for the new generations. The research also showed 16% of 20-24 year olds and 8% of 60-65s at risk of losing their income to automation.
While the oldest and youngest generations might be struggling to hold on to their entry level positions, it may come as no surprise that the jobs least at risk from automation are those with expert skills and years of training.
- Doctors (18%)
- Teachers (21%)
- Professors (21%)
- Dentists (53%)
While the research showed that a large majority of the world jobs are at risk, including those in the UK, the perception of the UK public differs greatly to the data found. 59% of the UK population believe that there is zero risk of automation affecting their livelihood and 26% believe it poses only be a slight risk. Globally transport and logistics, is one of the most at risk industries, particularly in North American and North Europe where the reliability of delivery services for everyday life has a large impact on employment figures.
The Countries Ready for the Move
One of the most industrialised countries in the world the Netherlands leads the way, with the country being crowned as the most prepared for implementing automation. The research reveals the Netherlands is 95% ready for the change, with 31% of their workforce at risk from losing their jobs.
The Netherlands is home to companies such as ING Group and Shell but is also internationally recognised for its agriculture, materials, and technology.
The Scandinavian region followed closely behind, with three countries featuring in the top five. Denmark was the second-most prepared country for automation at 88% with around 31% of jobs at risk. Sweden, home to Sony Ericsson and Spotify, followed closely behind with the nation being 83% prepared, with 25% of its workforce at risk of automation replacing workers.
At 82% the United Kingdom takes fourth place in the list of countries being most ready for automation and robotics, whilst 30% of the UK population’s jobs are at risk of automation. Finland rounds off the top five, with the county being 81% ready, whilst only having 22% of jobs at risk – the lowest number in Europe.
Robotics Profits are Booming
It seems that resisting automation certainly isn’t the way to go as the research revealed the amount of revenue the automation sector is expected to make over the next few years, with worldwide revenues in 2016 amounting to around $271 million – and this year, it’s set to make around $1.5 billion.
As the world prepares for automation, the amount of revenue is predicted to double by 2022 – reaching an all-time high of $3 billion.
For more information you can view the research here.