Port Talbot is a wakeup call – we need to focus on reskilling now...

The news of redundancies at the UK’s biggest steelworks is another reminder that reskilling our country has to be higher on our agenda.??

In less than 50 years, we’ve gone from Industry 3.0 and the introduction of technology and automation, to where we are now, the beginning of Industry 5.0 driven by machine learning and data.?

Just like with previous transitions, it’s inevitable that if we want to achieve greater efficiency, productivity, and net zero, there will be pain as well as progress.?

But is there a different way to look at the future of work and how we can make the transition less painful?

The decision to move from coal to electric furnaces at Port Talbot means that thousands of roles are no longer required. At the same time, some people have pointed out that Google and Microsoft are both making big investments in the UK, whether that’s data centres or AI infrastructure, so it’s not all doom and gloom.?

Is that the right way to look at this? What can we do to help current workforces and the next generation of workers adapt? And how worried should we be about technology replacing humans?

There’s no consensus over the degree to which technology and automation will replace humans, rather than just changing the nature of what skills we need.?

Tech is reducing the need for human capital, there’s no getting around that. But I don’t see tech replacing us entirely, and I agree with Elon Musk that automation can be excessive, and that humans are underrated. I’m also optimistic that technological progress can create jobs.?

Take the city as an example. When companies relocate and set up huge new centres, it’s not just the 1,000 people they're employing. Some services feed into those people, the restaurants, the dry cleaners, the shops, the hospitality, electricians, construction, and security work. When London shut down during COVID, the impact of removing city workers was felt right across the service sectors and supply chains. I take a positive from that because we can invert that effect where new investment is taking place and a much wider range of jobs are required than you may think.?

But in the short term, the permanent loss of jobs is devastating, and if you’ve been in an industry for 20 years, retraining is a challenge.?

We can’t expect every steelworker to retrain as a data engineer, but there will be transferable skills to move into areas like construction, where there will be huge demand to support new infrastructure, though I recognise that opportunities might not be spread evenly across the UK.?

The mistake is knowing that big changes are coming and not preparing for them now. We’ve known for 20 years that jobs related to fossil fuels are time-limited, yet decisions like Port Talbot still come as a shock. We should be future-proofing careers now, while the sun is shining. Even when it’s obvious that we should prioritise retraining into new skills, it’s hard to know where that responsibility should sit. The government? Business? Education?

Everyone should be thinking about where our profession is going next, and where the demand for skills will be in the next decade or two. It won’t always be new roles that are future-facing. I spoke to a company recently that has set up a scheme to reskill mechanics whose skills will become outdated as we transition to EVs. The transition to electric will take much longer with heavy vehicles, and so buses will be needed for years to come. There’s a shortage of mechanics who can fix large vehicles, average salaries for bus mechanics are higher, and they will be in demand for years.?

The main lens I see this whole issue is the education of young people. Historically lots of young people would follow their parents into an industry, so we need to capture people at a young age and ensure they have the opportunity to learn skills that will future-proof them for the next 20-30 years.?

Rather than encourage them to learn long-established steel-making skills, we should enable them to learn the skills needed to work with new technologies like electric arc furnaces, and even what comes after that.?

A lot of the skills needed for the future of many industries will be related to technology, but not everyone wants to become a Java developer. STEM learning and professions involving science and engineering can be a realistic alternative to traditional local industries for young people, and I can’t think of many areas we will need more than science and engineering as we move to a more sustainable society. I’d like to see more schools and colleges get up to speed on this, and I think the enhancement of government apprenticeships will play an important role too.?

We might not know exactly what the jobs market will look like 30 years from now, but we know the direction of travel and now’s the time for action so our children have the right skills for their working lives.?

What’s your view on how areas like automation and sustainability will affect jobs and the skills we need? Is your company doing something interesting in this area? Tell us in the comments below.?