5.1 Effects of IT on employment

Starter

Paper basedÂ starter – See the teacher resources

Job Automation

One of the biggest concerns about IT is the threat of automation to jobs. Computers are becoming an increasing important part of our lives and as computers become more advanced, the numbers of jobs that can wholly or partly completed by machines has increased Â massively.

Pick 3 future careers that you are interested in and find out how likely you are to be replaced by a robot by using the BBC automation checker link below!

Make sure you write them down in your learning log.

BBC Website – Link

Factors that encourage automation

Repetitive tasks
Predictable jobs and environments
Hazardous environments
Jobs where a 24/7 presence is required
High volume production jobs

Factors that discourage automation

Jobs that require empathy
Jobs conducted in Â highly unpredictable or rapidly changing conditions or environments
Production where low volume is required.
Jobs where that require creativity

Positive Effects

What positive effects can you think of where automation might be improving employment?

Have a think and chat to the person next to you and see how many you get before clicking the link below to see some examples.

Which ones did you get right?
Do you come up with any examples that weren’t on the list?

Examples

Dangerous jobs can be done by machines
Boring, repetitive, poorly paid jobs can be done by machines
Cheaper Goods and Services
More highly paid jobs in programming and robot engineering

Have a look on the ICTlounge website and find 3 jobs that have beenÂ created due to automation.

For each of the jobs write down:

The name of the job
The reason the job has been created

Add these to your learning log.

Negative Effects

What negativeÂ effectsÂ of automation on employment can you think of?

Have a think and chat to the person next to you and see how many you get before clicking the link below to see some examples.

Which ones did you get right?
Do you come up with any examples that weren’t on the list?

Examples

Massive unemployment in some industry sectors
- http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/12/robots-threaten-low-paid-jobs-says-bank-of-england-chief-economist
Homogenisation of goods – Everything becomes mass produced.
- http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120522-one-world-order
Mass production of faulty goods, due to lack of human oversight
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33265966

Have a look on the ICTlounge website and find 3 jobs that have been lost due to automation.

For each job list:

The job title
What characteristics of the job make it easy for computers/robots to do

Essay

‘65% of todayâs grade-school children will end up at jobs that havenât been invented yet.’

US Department for labour

(Grade school is the US primary/secondary system)

What Â do you think of this statement?
Do you agree / disagree with it?
What evidence can you give to support / refute the claim.?
What do you think should be done to prepare students for tomorrow’s world?
What about older people? What should done to support them?

Put together a Prezi toÂ cover your answer to the questions above. You will have the remainder of the lesson to complete your work.

Homework

Automation Interview

Students and younger people are well placed to adapt to the changes that are coming due to automation. School curriculums and qualifications can be adapted to suit emerging job markets and you don’t have the problem of retraining for a new career whilst still supporting yourself and your family.

Older people with family, location and financial commitments may find it much more difficult to adapt.

Talk to your parent, guardian, or anyone you know whose job might be at risk from automation.

Write a report (approx 250 words ) about your interviewee, including:

Their job title
Their age
The likelihood of their job being replaced by robots, according to the BBC Website
What do they think about the likelihood of their job being replaced?
How do they feel about this?
What plans are they putting in place to cope with this coming change?
Your thoughts on the situation?