In The Future Of Work, Humans Will Still Be Wanted

Much of the debate on the fourth industrial revolution has revolved around the threat posed by new technologies such as AI and robotics to jobs and the human way of life. It's a debate that has often contained more hyperbole than fact, and perhaps Manpower is not the first group you would think of to try and add some sense to the debate, but that's what they've tried to do with a recent paper published to coincide with the World Economic Forum shindig in Davos. Lest we forget, Manpower was arguably the forerunner of the gig economy that is so hot today, with the company driving the temporary labor market since its foundation back in 1948. Whilst some will no doubt argue that it is therefore the devil incarnate and has spent decades eroding the hard won rights and privileges that the'future of work' seems to be largely without, it does nonetheless have a reasonably good position to oversee how the labor market is responding to the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution. They reveal that yes, employers are investing heavily in automated technology, but that they also appear to be investing heavily in human talent too.