Turns out, the machines are taking our jobs

Sad to read in the press recently that Big 4 accountancy firm employees just below equity partners are being let go. I say “sad” for a number of reasons.

Those who have families will face financial challenge. Secondly, and importantly, many of them will be ill-prepared for what it takes to get another job.

For decades, a significant proportion of those who pursued a career in accounting or law have chosen these ways of earning a living for safety and security (among other reasons). Even though for many, particularly today, that’s not always what they get. They haven’t been paying attention to the effects of the digital revolution and the increasing role of AI in employment prospects.

Finding yourself unemployed in your 40s is a shock and a challenge. You may have another 40 years to live, with high costs, insufficient funds, and few resources to help you.

A while ago, as the guest speaker and presenter at an Enterprise Awards dinner in Leicester I was asked to say a few words after the prize-giving. Casting my eye around the audience, I decided to address them as parents. So, I spoke about the paths that lie ahead for their children, and I warned them of the increasing insecurity in a professional career. In saying this, I was very aware that Leicester’s amazing success is in no small part due to the immense contributions made by the city’s Asian population. Yet these conscientious and well-intentioned families were still steering their children towards the professions. It was an understandably tricky idea for the audience to accept, as was evident in the Q&A session at the end. However, the mood changed when a man put his hand up and offered himself as a case in point: earlier that very day, he’d been made redundant by a leading accountancy firm, a casualty of their latest culling.

My mission to promote career management is not without frustrations. At times, I’m tempted to invoke one of our well-worn family sayings: “Don’t die where you shouldn’t have been in the first place!” This seems harsh, I know, but it’s happening all around us.

So, before you encourage your children to become accountants, just remember that it’s neither safe nor a job for life. Think how prepared they need to be when they’re replaced by bots…

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