Rising to the automation challenge: Localis responds to 35th British Social Attitudes Survey

Localis head of data research, Joe Fyans, said: “Young people are right to be phlegmatic about the rise of the robots in the workplace. However, we must acknowledge that the new jobs inevitably brought into play by automation will not necessarily be automatically filled by the current British workforce.

“What we need to be worried about is the strength of our local skills provision and whether or not we will be equipped as a nation to carry out the jobs of the future. In this sense it’s not so much a case of what happens with the jobs, but what happens to us and our capacity as a nation to adapt our skill-sets to the needs of a rapidly-evolving labour market.

“Although we seem to recognise that whole swathes of the labour market are set to be replaced, the key question is whether we are fully prepared as a nation for the new wave of jobs and how these will change local economies and national industries.”

ENDS

Press enquiries:

Jonathan Werran, head of news and events, Localis
0870 448 1530 / 07967 100328 / jonathan.werran@localis.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

1. Localis is an independent think-tank dedicated to issues related to local government and localism. Since our formation we have produced influential research on a variety of issues including housing, local government finance and health and social care. We carry out innovative research, hold a calendar of events and facilitate an ever growing network of members to stimulate and challenge the current orthodoxy of the governance of the UK.

2. In March Localis published a groundbreaking report ‘The Automation Impact: Which, when and where?’ http://www.localis.org.uk/research/the-automation-impact/ exploring the likely impact of automation across the country.

Produced in collaboration with Sky News, the research considers the places where automation should cause the most immediate concern because their economies are most-reliant on high-risk industries.