The Future of Work in the UK

Future Work Scenario In The UK

Every day, the future of work in the UK is changing. Across the economy, technology is bringing about a transition while emerging technologies such as AI and robotics are now becoming commonplace (Hewitt, 2020). In the present day, the UK regards the implications of digital transformation in the realm of work. Thus, all businesses and people across the country are well equipped with the advantages of digital transformation.

Demographic changes and technological progress employ more than 6 million people in the UK. However, they are employed in occupations likely to disappear by the end of 2030. The employment rate in the UK increased since December 2022. It was estimated at 75.6 per cent in March 2023. Technology is driving economic growth and helping create employment in large numbers.

Regarding digital technology UK is already making a lot of progress. In other words, the country is regarded as the world leader in AI, quantum computing and advanced semiconductor designs (Huggins et al. 2021). The tech sector has grown by 7 per cent and is estimated to support about 3 million jobs. The technological progress is evident from Public First’s report, which highlights that almost half of the organisations in the UK that use digital technology are becoming important daily.

Nevertheless, the Public First Report also shows that many businesses still need to catch up in capitalising on digital technologies. It is founded in the report that digital tools are not used by 42 per cent of businesses. In addition, there needs to be more awareness about the function of technology that significantly enhances the business’s productivity (Huggins et al. 2021). In addition, the less digitally intensive businesses have asserted that they need to be made aware of the increased use of the disparity digital technology will bring to their operations. Many business leaders must be more intentional about cloud computing (Huggins et al. 2021). This mainly happened to small businesses that were mostly unfamiliar with cloud technology.
Employees will have the accessibility to hybrid working, which ensures that each employee will have time to contribute towards the production process regardless of the location or style of work. Businesses supporting the hybrid working environment will benefit more as employees work collaboratively, synchronously or asynchronously. A lucid comprehension of the different types of work will lead to increased efficiency and overall satisfaction of the employees. In addition, employers of different organisations will recruit people from different backgrounds (Hewitt, 2020). This will foster creative thinking and problem-solving. Employers will also invest in advanced technology, such as AI and automation. The technical gaps and labour shortages will be overcome with AI and automation. Not only this, automation helps increase employee productivity by creating a workplace that will be more attractive to work in. Besides this, it will also help in the retention of top talents.

Does the UK need to strengthen its digital skills?

Only 82 per cent of businesses have regarded business skills as important. In other words, digital skills are getting increasingly important compared to formal qualifications. Intermediate digital skills are considered by 46 per cent of businesses, while 28 per cent of businesses are still inclined to university degrees. Furthermore, those businesses that are digitally intensive find it difficult to recruit staffs who possess good digital skills. They have further asserted that a shortage of digital skills has stunted the growth of a business. It has also been found that many employees still need to receive formal digital training; instead, they are self-taught Hewitt, 2020.
To ensure the continuity of jobs, the UK needs to work more on digital and cloud skills to compete on the global stage. For this reason, AWS or Amazon Web Services, is spending a million pounds to provide computing skills for free to almost 29 million people by the end of 2025. The main agenda is to make people knowledgeable about various levels of technical knowledge.

What is the future of UK employment?

During the pandemic, employment in the UK has witnessed an immense crisis. However, the impact has varied in terms of place and sector. The use of automation, along with the implementation of technologies such as the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence, will unleash structural shifts in the workforce of the UK, which will be increased by the ageing population Hewitt, 2020. Occupations such as managers, health professionals and technology specialists will increase by 20% by 2030. However, there are also chances of talent shortages among the managers, engineers and technology specialists. Nearly two-thirds of the workforce will need more basic digital skills, whereas 10 million people will need to be more skilled in decision-making, communication and leadership.
In this regard, technology adoption trends offer a tremendous opportunity for businesses in all sectors across the UK. Organisations that will be fast to take advantage of digitisation and automation or look for relevant skills will be able to boost their productivity, engage customers and employees and accelerate innovation. Technology affects high-skilled and low-skilled workers differently (Hewitt, 2020). Technology will positively affect highly skilled workers as it helps them hone their efficiency. This will increase their demand for services as compared to the low-skilled workers. Thus in the short term, this might create labour shortages, thereby narrowing down the job opportunities for low-skilled labourers (Lund et al. 2021).
As per the projections made by the New UK labour market, the greatest increase in jobs will be in the beverages and health sectors. In the occupational sector, the jobs of associate occupations and professional occupations will increase. However, the people who belong to the blue-collar professions will lose their jobs.

What type of skills will the UK need in future?

The industry will attract people adept at technology and focussed on high-skill activities such as Research and Development, prototype production, and manufacturing high-value and complex products. In addition, people who will be engaged in managerial positions shall be skilled enough to manage the R&D process and introduce new products into the market (Lund et al. 2021). In addition, people should be capable of working in various global organisations. The employer will highly demand people who are working in skilled trade jobs. This denotes the dynamic nature of the production processes and the employer’s preferences for people who have developed vocational training within the workplace. The projections of employment are also dependent upon the renaissance in the manufacturing sector of the UK. However, this is only reflected in some levels of employment. The manufacturing sector contributes largely to the GDP, which is done through the value of the output.

Employment in the UK

The four big supermarkets, Sainsbury, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, will employ people from managerial and technological backgrounds. They will also employ people who have adequate knowledge of digital technology will be hired. Employees will also be hired in the healthcare sector (Lund et al. 2021). In future, this recruitment will increase because the outbreak of COVID-19 has increased the demand for healthcare workers. The education sector and restaurants will also employ people in large numbers. The employment rate in the UK was 76 per cent in March 2023, an increase from the previous year. The employment rate is rising gradually.

Which jobs in the UK will be demanded more?

The employment sector in the UK is presently going through a need for more digital skills which implies that people with IT and software skills will be more in demand in future. Like digital skills, cyber security is another high job profile in the UK. It comprises a vital aspect of many companies and also government organisations. In the future, cyber security specialists’ jobs will be on the rise. In addition to this, the jobs that are related to health services are increasing in demand. Job-related to architecture will also be available as it comprises a mix of engineering, communication, teamwork and maths skills. As the world of communication is evolving faster, the job of graphic designers will be in increased demand in the UK. The job may include designing logos, websites, and traditional print or packaging (Hewitt, 2020). In addition, the job of physical scientists will also be in increased demand in the future. As all organisations aim towards sustainable development, the need for physical scientists will also be higher. To deal with the customers, sales assistants are needed by all organisations.
The job role of the sales assistant comprises dealing with the customers and answering their queries. This implies that the job of a sales assistant will be in demand. Similarly, an operations manager will also be required by an organisation. He initiates the effective running of the organisation. Thus MBA graduates can pursue their careers as operations managers (Hewitt, 2020). Another job in high demand is the business analyst who helps an organisation acquire its future growth. They work with software solutions and IT and participate in the suitable decision-making process that will help the organisation acquire its future growth.

References

• Hewitt, R., 2020. Getting on: Graduate employment and its influence on UK higher education. Higher Education Policy Institute.
• Huggins, R., Prokop, D. and Thompson, P., 2021. UK competitiveness index 2021.
• Lund, S., Madgavkar, A., Manyika, J., Smit, S., Ellingrud, K., Meaney, M. and Robinson, O., 2021. The future of work after COVID-19. McKinsey global institute, 18.

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Author Bio: At Academic Assignments, a premier supplier of superior assignment help to students, Mark Edmonds is a committed professional. Mark investigates “The Future of Work in the UK” with a deep understanding of the UK labour market and a passion for education. He works to bring to light new trends and technology that will influence how people work in the future. He is an exceptional writer. Mark wants to enable professionals and students to make wise choices concerning their academic and professional endeavours through his informative contributions.