Dealing with job disruptions

The political parties, during general elections, proclaim to create far more jobs than they actually can if elected to power. Little attention is given to understanding the phenomena that lead to job disruptions. By comprehending these factors, planners can better strategise to mitigate job losses as they become obsolete. Here, I provide a scientific basis for job disruption.

Firstly, there is a close relationship between education, advances in science and technology, and job disruption. For instance, quality education fosters developments in science and technology, which in turn drive industrial revolutions (IRs). The world has witnessed four major IRs so far: mechanisation, also called the textile revolution (IR 1.0; 1780, UK), mass production (IR 2.0; 1870, USA), automation (IR 3.0; ~2019), and the digital revolution (IR 4.0) that took place at the turn of the 20th century. These revolutions invariably disrupted jobs by reducing manpower requirements in industries and other service sectors. 

The digital revolution, however, arrived with unprecedented speed and impact, affecting every aspect of life globally, from education to international relations, defence, trade, and businesses. With the Internet’s proliferation, human life now revolves around it. The Internet of Things, the Internet of People, and the Internet of Services are greatly supported by the Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) platforms, facilitating the creation of smart grids, factories, buildings, homes, business hubs, social networks, and more.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics have opened countless possibilities, leading to massive job disruptions. Examples of affected professionals include architects, assemblers and fabricators, bank tellers, cashiers, dispatchers, fast food cooks, financial services, insurance and travel agents, journalists, legal secretaries, lawyers and paralegals, law enforcement officials, lumberjacks, mail carriers, marketing and advertising professionals, printing press operators, retail jewellers, goldsmiths, sports referees / umpires, stenographers, telemarketers, textile workers, teachers, and typists.

Many popular and global industries with sole monopolies had to go bankrupt (like Kodak Eastman Co). Innovations such as the smart phone now serve countless roles, rendering many businesses, such as information and communication centres and libraries, obsolete. Consequently, many businesses closed down, leading to a huge disruption in jobs. 

Each decade witnesses the permanent loss of several types of jobs. With the rise of online coaching, traditional teaching positions may become redundant over time. Teachers need to adapt by focusing on coaching in creative and critical thinking, problem solving, group learning, and self-learning to stay relevant.

Although technological advancements disrupt jobs, new jobs also emerge, mainly for the upgrade of technologies and maintenance. These require new skills, necessitating drastic changes to the education system. Future jobs demand contemporary skills and the ability to resolve critical issues creatively. Making innovations should become a habit. For this to happen, we need to first disrupt the habit of doing business as usual.

When a country faces severe unemployment, how would it provide employment without first generating jobs? The state and the central governments do not even fill up the existing vacancies on a regular basis. Besides, the credibility of academic credentials (certificates) is also not high at present; the few exceptions are the likes of IISc., IITs, IIITs, IIMs, some central universities, and IISERs. A few pools of talented graduates manage to get jobs either in the private sector or on the prairies outside India.

Talent is systematically driven out of the country following reverse discrimination. Moreover, our public sector units are hardly the magnets that attract talent. The plight of state-run universities is more than pathetic. Even from the premier institutions, cutting-edge research and innovations with global impact have yet to emerge. 

Political parties on the eve of elections often talk about generating millions of jobs and forget it once the election process is over. But technology-driven job disruption goes on unabated, and jobs become obsolete with the passing of each decade. Developmental work can create some jobs. Likewise, skills for upgrading and maintaining technologies and making innovations can help overcome job disruptions to some extent. However, the mindset of depending on secure government jobs has to change. Promoting entrepreneurship and skill-based quality education are two feasible solutions for dealing with job disruptions.

(The author is a former academic, administrator, and educationist)