To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the claim by the Bank of England that up to 15 million jobs in Britain are at risk from increased mechanisation.
Answered on
3 December 2015
The Bank of England has made an important contribution to the debate about how technological developments will shape work and the labour market.
While assessments often focus on the jobs at risk from technological change, the wider effects of such changes can also be to create jobs. The UK economy has adapted well to previous changes related to automation and globalisation, with over 2.5 million people moving between jobs each year, and it is now experiencing record rates (73.7%) and levels (31.2 million) of employment.
The Government is taking action to provide individuals with the skills that will help prepare them for changes to the labour market. Activities include the new school computing curriculum, developing new apprenticeship standards, growing the apprenticeships programme and recently announcing the Institute for Coding.
Furthermore, the Government’s Horizon Scanning Programme Team is working with officials across departments to explore the implications for policy – including employment – of automation. This has included meeting the experts who created the methodology underlying the Bank of England’s analysis.