Disruption happens. Be prepared.

The Village of Useful have highlighted how fast disruption happens with these two images of 5th Avenue, New York City. Taken just 13 years apart in the early 1900s, these images show the speed at which industries can be completely disrupted.

Commencing in 1885 with the development of a petrol or gasoline powered automobile by Karl Benz, then followed eighteen years later in 1903 with the Ford Motor Company producing and selling the Model A automobile, disruption of the transport industry was well and truly underway. With a focus on affordability for the average consumer, Ford's Model T became the first mass-produced automobile in 1908, with Ford producing a mind-blowing 15,000,000 Model T automobiles by 1927. While the first models were priced at $850, by 1924 the price had dropped to $290.

With the advent of the car being commercially available, hundreds of years of horse transportation was entirely undone. But not only that, the social, economic, political (we are talking oil and petroleum right...), and environmental changes that automobile transport also brought along. And within those changes are the impact on the labour market.

Gone in large numbers are the stables, the horse feed providers, the farriers, the cleaners, drovers, not to mention the horse whisperers (not sure they existed then to be honest, I am guessing many people knew how to manage a horse), to name a few.

And along came the new jobs. Well for starters car manufacturers, car assembly line workers, motor mechanics, tyre manufacturers, petroleum suppliers, hire car companies, spare part producers and sales assistants, service station owners and attendants, valets, chauffers, truck drivers, paramedics, taxi drivers, licence issuing clerks, and the list goes on.

And here we are 100 years later and the demise of car manufacturing in Australia last month with the closing of the Holden factory in South Australia.

The history of the Australian Car industry is covered in this article 'Why Australian car manufacturing died - and what it means for our motoring future'. It purports that the car industry in Australia has "...kept close to 50,000 people in a job — once you include the small businesses that supplied parts and services to Australia’s car manufacturers."

With the end of this industry in Australia the author Joshua Dowling asks, "How many former factory workers will find employment in hospitality, tourism, IT, or in a job that involves “innovation”, the catchcry of government?"

The prospects don't look good though with a 2013 report by University of Adelaide Associate Professor John Spoehr estimating that about one-third of the sacked blue collar workers are likely to become long-term unemployed based on research following the closing of the Mitsubishi car factory in the same state in 2008.

Disruption happens. As Rachel Hunter famously said in the 90's Pantene ad, "It won't happen overnight but it will happen". And what better illustration of that than the images above of 5th Avenue.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution in 250 years is upon us. Many, many, many industries and occupations will be impacted. The implications will be far and wide and the social costs and consequences unfathomable.

Be ready for whatever change is coming in your industry or occupation. Be empowered by keeping informed about the future of work, keep your qualifications up to date, have your eportfolio ready to go, keep preening your LinkedIn profile, have a digital presence, and retrain if you have to - and sooner rather that later when the horse has proverbially bolted. 

Image source.