Seventy-four percent of 18-30 year-olds believe that technical jobs are less likely to be performed by machines or software in the future. — AFP Relaxnews
It seems that not a week goes by without a report predicting the disappearance or radical transformation of millions of jobs in the wake of artificial intelligence. And this spectre is prompting younger generations to reconsider their career plans. They are increasingly looking at jobs that require technical skills, to increase their chances of avoiding being replaced by machines.
American home services platform Thumbtack surveyed 1,000 Americans between the ages of 18 and 30 on their opinion of skilled trades. It found a genuine interest in these professions, which require mastery of complex knowledge. Nearly one in two respondents (47%) would consider a career in this field.
And there are some good reasons, technical professions offer certain advantages which are particularly appealing to younger generations. Flexibility is one of them. Over 80% of 18-30 year-olds surveyed are interested in these professions because of the flexible working hours they offer.
Indeed, recent studies of young people’s expectations in terms of employment demonstrate that flexibility is an important criterion for attracting – and above all, retaining – talented employees who don’t seem to be particularly interested in corporate culture.
The shorter training time and lower cost of the educational courses required to enter technical professions are also among the attractive qualities most cited by the under-30s, as is the rapid professional integration of young graduates. The entrepreneurial dimension of these professions also appeals to more than eight out of ten respondents.
This is hardly surprising, given that 45% of Generation Z members say they are "very" or "extremely" inclined to set up their own business at some point in their lives, according to Ernst & Young LLP's 2021 Gen Z Segmentation report.
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What's more, 74% of 18-30 year-olds believe that skilled trades jobs are less likely than other occupations to be carried out by machines or software in the future, as Fast Company magazine, which had access to the full Thumbtack survey, states.
Something that experts are divided on. Indeed, the automation potential of a job is often determined according to various factors such as the creativity and manual dexterity it requires, or its routine nature. But this approach is imperfect, as economist Gregory Verdugo explained to the Journal du CNRS in 2018.
“In 2004, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane, two Harvard economists, ranked driving among the activities that would escape technological revolutions because it requires adapting to unforeseen situations. Six years after the publication of their book, Google Cars were crisscrossing Californian roads,” he said at the time.
But what do people in technical professions think? Are they as optimistic as the under-30s that they won't soon be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence software? In fact they're even more so.
Almost all industry professionals believe that they will not be replaced by new technologies (95%), according to a survey of 800 of them conducted by Thumbtack. However, they fear that their sector will fail to attract new talent, and that future generations will turn away from it. For the time being, these fears appear to be unfounded. – AFP Relaxnews
