Work in progress: The evolution of jobs
Rapid deployment of technology in the workplace has led to fears that some skills and professions will become redundant. However, history shows that the labour market has a way of adjusting to changes in demand
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A surgical assistant and nurse accompany obesity specialist Dr Muffazal Lakdawala during a bariatric surgery in Mumbai. Jobs like that of nurses and caregivers, which involve empathy and emotional connections, are relatively hard to automate and will see a boom in developing economies like India, futurists predict.
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After the second day of a week-long job training programme at Metropolitan Community College in North Omaha, US, Angelica Dunn heads home with her son. Half of black families in Omaha are headed by single black mothers, 42 percent of whom live below poverty line. According to a McKinsey report, women represent one of the largest pools of untapped labour: Globally, 655 million fewer women are economically active than men.
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A Kashmiri craftsman weaves a Kani shawl with wooden needles and thread made out of Pashmina wool, on the outskirts of Srinagar. Kani shawl weaving is one of the most difficult and rare craftsmanships. That these weavers can withstand low wages and neglect is proven by the resurgence of these arts today.
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Besides its punctuality, Tokyo’s railway network is known for employing professional pushers called oshiyas who shove as many office-goers as possible into trains during rush hour. According to studies, by 2030, nearly half of these Japanese office-goers will have to reskill and find new jobs due to automation.
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Visitors check out the latest feats of automation at the FOOMA Japan International Food Machinery and Technology Exhibition in Tokyo. The machinery shown here performs delicate tasks like laying a meal box. Japan’s competitive labour force and high capital costs have led the food industry to embrace advanced automation technologies, upending its reverence for fastidious chefs.
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A Deliveroo rider cycles through central London to make a food delivery. Millions of part-time and flexible workers in the so-called gig economy in England are to receive rights like sick and holiday pay under a new government reform. Prime Minister Theresa May has promised an overhaul of employment rights.
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Nobody knows the vagaries of the gig economy better than musicians on the make. The New Delhi-based alternative acoustic rock band Menwhopause, for instance, weathered a lot, adamantly playing original compositions and were instrumental in shaping the indie music scene in India.
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Freelance Steadicam operator Mike Scott shoots a scene with actors Ihana Dhil- lon and Gurmeet Choudhary for the Bollywood film Hate Story IV on Millennium Bridge in London. Bollywood has seen a spate of foreign technicians enhancing the finish of movies. Labour market dynamics and matching skills to locations will lead to increasing relocation of talent in the future.
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Ethnic Miao villagers take part in a ploughing competition in the field to greet ‘Li Xia’, the beginning of summer in Guangxi province, China. Millions of Chinese have migrated from farms to cities, leading to labour shortages in rural areas. Many farmers work in small plots and have a limited ability to invest in farm machinery and new seed varieties. The transition to American-style agribusiness and automation will have destabilising consequences in the Chinese countryside.
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Augie Fairchild and River Oneida weed onions in a garden at the 450-acre Twin Oaks Community in Virginia, US. Members of this self-reliant community share everything from housing, clothes and cars to child care. They are already out of the ‘job’ system.
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Visitors to the Kumbh Mela fair in Allahabad pay a small fee to listen to a fortune telling machine. No prizes for guessing what it would have to say about its own future work prospects: It will always be employed because futurists are forever.
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