Industrial automation and technology is fast becoming ubiquitous in many industries. Artificial intelligence is disrupting normal way of life and many companies are considering full automation in other to improve efficiency and profitability. Paperless office, robotic customer service, automated teller machines , block chain technology, driverless cars etc. are drawing the attention of stakeholders.

Technology adoption, if not well considered and carefully designed can lead to business disruption, social concerns and unemployment. These amongst other things are the concerns of workers which consequently have developed resistance towards technology adoption, especially in the public/civil service.

It should be stated that many of the jobs people are trained for today will be replaced by machines and robots soon. The global competition is getting intense and consumer demand will always result in a need to adopt efficient service delivery mechanisms.

So how do we respond to this disruption as policy makers and entrepreneur?

There is a need to categorize labour and determine technology fit for each category.

Labour should be categorized into four as acronym U-GPS:

A. Unskilled Labour
B. General Labour
C. Professional Labour
D. Specialist Labour

Unskilled labour should be made available in every economy to cater for those people at the lower end of the population curve. This category of labour might not worth the cost of technology adoption except where tools are provided to protect their health, safety and environment.

General labour is often engaged in repetitive and redundant activities. These activities require lower qualification and these jobs can be automated in any business. Workers in this category should be encouraged to up-skill from school certificate to at least a National Diploma certificate level.

Professional labour requires human input and analytical prowess. This category should not be fully automated. Rather technology should be adopted to boost workers’ productivity and intelligence.

Specialist Labour involves activities that are complicated with high impact and consequence on safety, health and environment. This category of activities should have a high degree of automation with minimal human involvement.

It is a fact that our businesses and lives will not remain the same in today’s global environment. Policy makers and business owners therefore need to craft a policy that balances technology adoption with labour involvement. Focus should be on continuous training to keep the workforce up to date with technological changes and our national curriculum should be updated to fit the changing labour market demand.

2 Comments

  1. Oyin-Adedamola

    January 21, 2023 at 8:58 am

    An article 4 years
    But A very precise peak into the future

    Reply
  2. Omopariola Adeniyi

    January 21, 2023 at 10:43 am

    This is good insight into the state of automation of processes. There’s been more advances today than in the year this piece was published. These days, it appears no cadre of labour is being spared the incursion of machines. Some 15years ago, I have thought AI cannot take over medicine. Today, one can’t be so sure again. Few days ago I read somewhere about a robotic “lawyer” making an appearance in court. That’s the height of it for me. When man is through automating all that should be automated, they’ll begin to automate whatever can be automated. With the reducing cost of chips and other components, where we have seen washing machines, dishwasher and other home automation devices, I can say we are just starting.

    Reply

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