Sign Africa Journal May / June 2018 | Page 39

INSIGHT UPSKILLING IS IMPORTANT FOR WORKERS TO REMAIN RELEVANT BY PRINTING SA A new way of perceiving matters (as far as the future of jobs in South Africa is concerned) is required, according to industry experts. Free trade pacts and outsourcing are often blamed for the loss of South African jobs, but global CEOs at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, felt that robots, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) will be the main contributors to this worldwide problem in the future. ...NOT ONLY FLAT, RIGID AND STABLE – THIS WHITE BOARD IS 100% GREEN TOO! DISPA ® lives up to everything you would expect from a sign and display board – flat, smooth surface, excellent printability, rigidity and stability – and a unique design made of 100% FSC ® -certified paper (FSC ® -C127595). Buy DISPA ® and make an active contribution to sustain- able management of forests around the world. ...USE DISPA ® TO PRINT YOUR WORLD CUP ADVERTISING MESSAGE ON! Many efficient new technologies are emerging to support humans in print manufacturing and business, including robotics, driverless cars, AI systems and 3D printers. These shifts will obviously result in the creation of many new high-skilled jobs. In turn, business leaders are recognising the importance of life-long learning to help workers stay relevant in this quickly changing world. As more businesses adopt automation, many jobs are being automated, which disrupts the lives of many workers. By 2020, more than 7 million jobs worldwide are expected to be lost to technology, according to the World Economic Forum’s ‘The Future of Jobs’ report. To stay competitive and responsive in this climate, the private sector, including the printing industry, must develop new programmes to retrain displaced workers in strategic fields such as data analytics, computer science and entrepreneurship. Displaced print workers will need upskilling to perform new high-paid jobs in advanced manufacturing, such as the production and servicing of solar panels, 3D printing and connected devices. Going forward, all types of workers will be well served to continually re-skill and upskill themselves throughout their careers to navigate our rapidly evolving business landscape. In the future, education will not simply be a four-year steppingstone from school to a chosen profession, it will be a lifelong learning process that embraces ongoing change. ‘I think what we’re reaching now is a time when we may have to find alternative careers through our lifetime,’ Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explained in an interview with Reuters at Davos, a view shared by South African Institute of Printing (SAIP) and Printing SA CEO, Steve Thobela. HALL 3.2 BOOTH C40 WWW.DISPA.CLICK www.SignAfrica.com | MAY/JUNE 2018 ISSUE 95 39