Labour Market Adaptation in the Age of Automation

August 29, 2016
Kristine St-Laurent

As disruptive technologies push the frontiers of automation and encroach on some of the advantages that humans have been thought to possess over machines, the way we work is being transformed.

Highlights

  • What does automation mean for the future of employment? Will technology yield big gains in productivity and an improved quality of life? Or does it pose a threat to workers and jobs that will strain the broader socio-economic system in the coming decades? Yes—to both.
  • Automation is both a substitute for and a complement to human capital and intelligence. The challenge for workers in the "age of the machine" will be to figure out where they can add value and/or perform non-automatable tasks, and where computers can act as substitutes for human labour.
  • BC’s shifting demographic structure, combined with automation, may point to added stresses for our socio-economic system.
  • For government and industry, policies to build appropriate skills should be a priority to help address the consequences of automation and prepare for the digital economy. Digitized, computer-generated knowledge, products and services promise gains in productivity and the overall quality of life—but also threaten to leave behind those who are unable to adapt.
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

Become A BCBC Member

LEARN ABOUT MEMBERSHIP
BACK TO TOP    

ADDRESS

Business Council of British Columbia
1050 West Pender Street, Suite 960
Vancouver BC V6E 3S7

CONTACT INFORMATION

Telephone: 604-684-3384
Media Contact: 604-684-3384
Email: info@bcbc.com

© 2023 Business Council of BC. All rights Reserved.

linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram