Shaping Labour Market Trends

The Impact on Work

Technology not only affects the way companies are organized, it also affects jobs.

• Technology displaces some jobs; it creates others. For example, a millworker might be replaced with robotics, but the plant will require people to design, operate and maintain the robotics technology.
• Technology changes how work is actually done. For example, the verb "to informate" was coined to describe the way information technology inserts "data" in between the workers and the product. The factory worker no longer manipulates the sheet of steel; he/she manipulates the data used to control the equipment that manipulates the sheet of steel.

Technology and Highly Skilled Work

Innovations in technology have resulted in work transitions not only for manual labour (mail sorting, assembly, typesetting) but also for mental labour.

For instance, work in manufacturing and production set-up, troubleshooting and maintenance has shifted from skilled trades people to engineering technologists and technicians as production equipment has become more computer and control system intensive. At the same time, calculation, design and process control tasks previously done by qualified engineers have also been shifted to the engineering technologists and technicians, based on the math skills they receive as part of their training and their ability to use the new engineering software. With tasks being transferred from two other areas, growth in employment opportunities will continue to be above average for engineering technologists and technicians. (O'Grady, 1999, p. 16)

Mental labour jobs in the arts are also in transition. TV stations can now do all their studio filming with robotic cameras. However, production and editing, and streaming of film over the Internet are growing areas.

Even in the education and training field, new computer technology is changing how teachers interact with students. Some teachers are designing self-instructional software for classrooms; others are presenting classes on television and providing discussion forums over the Internet.

Technology and Clerical Work

One area of work that has been severely affected by innovations in information technology is clerical work. Over 80% of clerical workers are women. In fact, the most recent census (1996) shows that the three most common jobs for women remain in clerical, sales and service occupations.

Technology had its first impact on clerical workers in the 1980s. With the introduction of personal computers, all workers were able to produce their own documents, memos and letters, thus eliminating many clerical jobs. The second wave of technology, in the form of electronic data interchange (EDI), allowed information to be exchanged computer-to-computer. This reshaped the tasks of clerical workers again.

William Bridges (1994) uses the example of a purchase order entered by a salesperson onto a laptop computer in a customer's office. This triggers a chain of "data" events throughout many departments and among several companies. As a result, fewer people are needed to fill out, key in, issue and file papers.

Knowledge Workers* Have Been the Fastest Growing Type of Workers This is definitely true over the last quarter century or so in Canada. A study done for the Applied Research Branch of HRDC states that from 1971 to 1996, while total employment was growing at an average rate of 2.1% per year, the employment of knowledge workers grew at 5.2% per year. This is twice the pace of service workers, the second fastest-growing group of workers over that period. The proportion of knowledge workers jumped from one in every 16 workers in 1971, to one in every eight workers in 1996. The study also shows that this knowledge-worker phenomenon has generally encompassed all major industry groups, including industries normally considered "low tech." Therefore, the growth in employment of knowledge workers represents a widespread trend in the Canadian economy. Source: Lavoie and Roy, 1997 reproduced by permission of the Minister of Human Resources Development Canada 2000. *Definition in Glossary

• In the purchasing department, no purchase order needs to be keyed in; a computer orders the necessary materials and components from the supplier.
• At the suppliers, the orders are received, and a comparable chain of electronic events initiates the preparation and shipment of the order. An invoice is sent electronically.
• In the factory, the product specifications are electronically coded into the computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system, and the product is largely turned out by automated machinery.
• In accounting, payment is made electronically for the materials.
• At a dozen other points along the production-delivery route, more data events take place. For instance, the salesperson's electronic file calculates the commission due on the sale, the factory's production records are updated and end-of-the-year bonuses are determined (p. 11).

Innovations in information technology, such as Electronic Data Interchange, mean the elimination of many routine clerical jobs, such as those positions paying in the $25,000 to $30,000 range. These will be replaced by:

• highly skilled information workers or executive assistants who are capable of combining basic analytical and managerial/professional duties with senior-level clerical functions. They will earn in the $35,000 to $45,000 a year range; and
• lower-skilled clerical workers who perform functions, such as data entry, and will likely earn in the vicinity of $9 hourly (depending on province, sector, etc.), usually only on a part-time basis.

Technology and Service Sector Work

It has generally been assumed that the jobs being eliminated in labour intensive manufacturing or natural resources would be replaced by new jobs in the service sector, but it is becoming clear that the service sector is just as susceptible to restructuring and job reduction as manufacturing. Almost by definition, service jobs are jobs that require a human touch. It has been assumed that jobs in this segment of the economy would remain secure because machines could never replace human beings. However, the human touch is not as essential as had been thought. People are willing to pump their own gas, and they will do their banking at the automatic teller machine, 24 hours a day.

Workers in traditional service sector jobs that require a high school education or less are among the hardest hit by technological changes. For example, restaurants will soon have laser cookers and information systems that allow customers to press buttons to get a hamburger just the way they want. And more advanced robot cashiers are coming. Shoppers will simply run their groceries past an optical scanner and touch the screen command box to signal readiness to pay, which can be done by bank card or cash, with change dispensed automatically. The robot cashier will even curb theft by detecting the exact weight of the scanned groceries and sounding a discreet alarm if a customer bags something without scanning it. As a result, many lower-skilled service jobs will disappear, but the people with the computer skills to design and maintain the equipment will be in demand.

While it is recognized that the real costs of technological change are felt most painfully by lower-skilled service workers, higher-skilled service workers will also be affected. The impact of technology is likely to spread as competitive pressures penetrate all service industries. For example, strong competition in pharmaceuticals will result in lost positions for highly skilled lab workers, and the number of telecommunications workers will decrease as technology takes over duties in this industry.

Technology and Telecommuting Technology, in the form of faxes and modems, enables a person to take on assignments and turn in work as effectively from home as from the office. And cellular phones and laptop computers turn the salesperson's car or hotel room into an office. Because employers can save on real estate costs and increase productivity by 10 to 35% by switching workers to telecommuting, more companies are hiring individuals who agree to work from home, at least part time. Workers can benefit as well. According to the B.C. Systems Corporation, the average telecommuter saves $1,700 in expenses and reduces travel by 3,000 kilometres per year. However, only large employers usually supply telecommuters with a company computer for use at home.

Implications for Career Decision Making

Workers need an understanding of what will impact their work - a new alertness for changes to come and what it will mean to them. The changing nature of work is evident in the automation changes in the processes of design, manufacturing and quality control, in offices and in transportation, health care, communications and retail services.

Tradespersons need to be alert to new fabrication materials and computer-based processes that are increasing the complexity of their trades. For example, machinists now need training to use computerized numeric control (CNC) equipment in manufacturing.

Because many women still train for clerical work, the decline in middle-skill level, traditional, secretarial jobs is critical labour market information to pass on to clients. Women who want to gain the higher-paying, semi-professional, clerical jobs, need to be aware that they need:

• strong technical skills, including advanced word processing, spreadsheet capabilities as well as a technology comfort level that allows utilization of other relevant business software programs;
• basic analytical skills, that is, the ability to go beyond just gathering numbers and formatting reports to include interpreting and making recommendations based on the information (from DATA work to KNOWLEDGE work);
• communication skills; and
• a willingness to accept responsibility.

In today's labour market where many work opportunities involve project or short-term or contract positions, all workers consciously need to develop entrepreneurial/networking skills and to be on the alert to market themselves at every opportunity.