There has been a lot of coverage recently, particularly within manufacturing over the risk to jobs which does appear somewhat one-sided.

Whether we like it or not, automation is clearly established already and set to expand exponentially. According to recent analysis from the ONS, up to 1.5 million jobs in the UK are at risk of being automated to some extent in the future which has fuelled much of the negative press coverage.

The report looked at 20 million jobs spread across the UK and discovered that 7.5% are at high risk of automation, in particular lower skilled jobs which often include more routine and repetitive tasks that can be substituted by an algorithm.

However, the report did not predict how many jobs might be created because of an uplift in automation which really does need to be stressed. Whilst predictions are just that, various studies including research from the World Economic Forum forecasts that automation (Robotics and AI) could create over 130 million jobs worldwide which is almost double the number set to be displaced.