Independent research by specialised recruiter Robert Half shows that new technologies are expected to create more jobs going into 2020. While a McKinsey & Company report indicates that new technologies are expected to automate 25 per cent to 46 per cent of existing Australian workforce activities by 2030, the survey findings indicate that the rise of machines isn’t simply taking away jobs, but rather changing the definition of existing roles and creating new ones.
Australian business leaders are more optimistic about the impact of technology on job creation compared to their global counterparts. According to the Robert Half Survey, almost 7 in 10 (69 per cent) Australian business leaders think technology will create permanent jobs in their teams throughout 2020.
Across the thirteen markets recently surveyed by Robert Half, 64 per cent of business leaders expect new technology to create permanent roles across their teams in 2020.
Australian business leaders are marginally less optimistic about temporary and contract roles, with almost half (48 per cent) foreseeing that technology will create new temporary and contract roles, above the global average (42 per cent). Additionally, fewer Australian business leaders (15 per cent) believe that new technologies will reduce the number of temporary and contract roles than their global peers (23 per cent).
Business leaders in Australia and globally were asked “How will new technologies affect the net number of jobs across your team in 2020?”
| Permanent
(Australia) |
Temporary
(Australia) |
Permanent
(Global) |
Temporary
(Global) |
|
| Significantly more jobs created than lost | 38 per cent | 11 per cent | 30 per cent | 13 per cent |
| Some more jobs created than lost | 31 per cent | 37 per cent | 34 per cent | 29 per cent |
| No net change in jobs | 19 per cent | 27 per cent | 22 per cent | 30 per cent |
| Some more jobs lost than created | 9 per cent | 12 per cent | 10 per cent | 18 per cent |
| Significantly more jobs lost than created | 3 per cent | 3 per cent | 3 per cent | 5 per cent |
While automation will continue to disrupt workplaces and contribute to job loss in some sectors, jobs for technically skilled professionals are set to increase by 10.2 per cent by 2023.
New technological developments across high-speed mobile internet, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and cloud technology require additional skilled professionals to develop and implement them, which in turn, creates and will continue to create more job opportunities for professionals with an agile mindset and appetite to develop emerging technical skills.
Business leaders in Australia and globally were asked to indicate tech specialisms experiencing “high to urgent demand” in their IT departments.
Top Five skills:
| Australian CIOs | Global CIOs | |
| Cloud technologies (AWS/Azure) | 80 per cent | 86 per cent |
| Database management (Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server) | 80 per cent | 75 per cent |
| DevOps | 78 per cent | 76 per cent |
| Business intelligence and reporting services (Power BI, SSAS, SSIS) | 76 per cent | 79 per cent |
| CRM Technologies | 76 per cent | 76 per cent |
Many of the jobs forecast to experience growth in the wake of new technologies will be tech-centric, while calling on a range of soft and strategic skills to complement the tech functionality. According to LinkedIn’s 2020 Emerging Jobs Report, the top emerging roles in Australia rely on AI or automation skills and include artificial intelligence specialists, cyber-security specialists, marketing automation specialists, robotics engineers, and site reliability engineers.
“The introduction of new technology is not only viewed as very positive by the majority of our C-suite respondents but continues to be an important catalyst for job creation, skills development and staff retention,” comments Nicole Gorton, director of Robert Half Australia. “While some existing job functions are likely to be reallocated to automated processes, particularly manual or back-end processing, candidates who adopt a mindset of constant learning and embrace the potential of new technologies will bolster their employment prospects and are primed to succeed in a period of rapid technological change.
“Some of the fastest growing job opportunities across all industries hold technology at their core, include those based on new technology, such as software development, specialist roles that leverage emerging technology, such as cyber-security, and those that rely on distinctly ‘human’ skills which sit alongside technology, such as change management and strategic-thinking skills,” she said.
