The rebellion of the machines could be less apocalyptic than Hollywood predicted on the big screen.
The 4.0 revolution, which implies new working relationships, not only leads to the disappearance of a significant number of tasks within the work scenario, but also promises to create new positions, still unpublished.
This scenario, of course, presents challenges for companies, especially in a market such as Argentina, hostage to their own swings. However, the general consensus indicates that in order to resist, technology must be embraced.
Up to now, the numbers seem to confirm it: a recent study by ManpowerGroup reveals that, for the third year in a row, more Argentine employees than ever (86%) plan to increase or maintain the number of employees as a result of automation.
According to the consultancy, instead of reducing employment opportunities, organizations are investing more and more in digital technology. The key is to delegate tasks to the so-called bots and, in the process, create more jobs.
Faced with a reality that requires new knowledge, companies are improving the training of their staff so they can perform functions that until only a few years ago did not exist and complement those carried out by machines.
In short, the evolution towards what will be the company of the future is in full development. Fortunately, the necessary steps are being taken to reach that horizon.
Knowledge is power
Today, more than ever, Argentine companies are in the race to develop the talent they already have in their workforce. New technologies demand it.
The Manpower study highlights that 81% of Argentine employers have a portfolio to improve the skills of their employees by 2020, a considerable growth compared to 38% in 2011.
Companies with the awareness that they can not wait for the talent they need to be available just when they need it; therefore, they should cultivate it indoors.
Kelly Palmer, former director of Learning in Yahoo! and LinkedIn and current executive of Degreed, an educational technology firm dedicated to training and recognizing learning along with professional skills, assures iProUP that "there are more tools, content and technologies than ever before to help employees become experts. a firm needs. "
For the expert, "success requires that you adopt a new mentality when it comes to training talent, the most important asset." It requires that workers be thought of as complex and unique individuals who should have control over their own learning and career. It challenges us to put aside the old-fashioned and traditional ways of closing skill gaps in a workplace. "
In this way, the advent of employees 4.0 forces them to completely rethink their recruitment strategies. Therefore, searches and recruitment processes will be redefined.
"If CEOs and business leaders rely on an 'exclusive hiring' strategy to get talent with the skills they need for their future, they will not succeed, the key is to make workplace learning an integral part of the job." says Palmer.
The executive also clarifies that training should be provided by providing a platform, opportunities and time to learn, so that employees "make decisions about their own learning paths".
In addition to providing internal training, companies have also begun to take advantage of external resources: 15% of Argentine firms have already partnered with external organizations such as schools, universities and industry bodies to build talent communities, according to Manpower.
By 2022, more than 50% of the employees will need a significant reconversion and improvement of their skills. Of these, it is estimated that around 35% will need training for up to six months, 9% will take 6 to 12 months to retrain and 10% more than a year. Learning, clearly, will be essential.
An oasis called software
In a context in which the stagnation of wages is increasingly spoken of, and where the salaries of unskilled labor resist rising, employers are willing to pay more for the skills they seek,
Locally, 23% of firms offer higher salary packages to solve recruitment problems, while 41% pay more to attract and retain existing staff.
Likewise, 71% of Argentine employers will acquire the skills they need, either by paying higher salaries with respect to the market or by improving the compensation of existing personnel.
The segment of software and services related to high technology is a clear example of this growing trend.
Last year they recorded exports for US $ 1.7 billion (of a total turnover of US $ 3,283 million), which positions this activity among the most important in the increasingly oscillating trade balance.
According to the Permanent Observatory of the Software and Computer Services Industry (OPSSI):
- Sales increased almost 45% in 2018 compared to 2017 (measured in current pesos)
- This generated an increase in registered employment of 5.6%
- In absolute values, they represent about 5,400 new jobs
- The total number of people using this activity exceeds a whopping 435,000, according to INDEC
- In a climate of strong labor instability, it is one of the few areas in which the generation of employment continues to rise sharply
"In this sector there is a lack of qualified personnel, despite the problems that are common to all branches of activity, such as high interest rates, there have been no layoffs or breakdowns of companies," says Aníbal Carmona, president of the Chamber of Software Companies and Computer Services of Argentina (CESSI).
For his part, Andrés Vior, CEO of Intive-FDV, assures iProUP that 2018 "was a very good year, with a 55% growth in turnover, measured at constant change".
Although it clarifies that this did not necessarily happen because the market interned helped. Rather, it was the product of greater sales abroad. In the context of a dollar that jumped from $ 18 to more than $ 40 in just 12 months, predictability and medium-term planning became high-demand tasks.
"We saw a very slow exchange rate in the middle of last year, that was left behind and now we went to the other side, we went from being happy to being worried, because the devaluation has been so extreme that it left the continuity of inflation sitting." emphasizes Vior.
Companies engaged in "manufacturing" software or developing technology agree that the impact of the crisis has been less violent in their industry. For Vior, "it is not easy for anyone to plan in such changing conditions, but if you see the 'excel' the results were good."
And the traditional ones?
Gabriel Pereyra, head of Human Resources of Indra, anticipates iProUP that "50% of the work we do today will disappear or change in the very near future." The impact of robotization and AI will cause repetitive and systematic tasks tend to be automated. "
According to the executive, "this process affects most professions: from assemblers in factories, warehouse operators, telemarketers, translators, waiters and cooks in restaurants, accountants and customs agents to television reporters: all are feasible to be replaced by robots. "
Guillermo Bracciaforte, co-founder of Workana, points out to iProUP: "Although we do not have specific data, we understand that emerging careers bring multiple trends that impact even more traditional areas such as education."
As an example, he points out that "to be a specialist in digital marketing today it is almost not advisable to study advertising".
"The irruption that these professions bring shows that people adapt much more quickly to changes than institutions, and companies that understand this before will have a competitive advantage over others," he adds.
Meanwhile, Maria Sol Benedetic, regional director of Associates, Candidates and Services of Adecco, says that "it is more than proven that robotization, digitalization and innovation generate more employment in new companies than in traditional ones".
However, he points out that "human talent can never disappear in any process of sale, manufacture and delivery of product or service, but will be present under another form of intervention in the process, more based on knowledge and skills than on the physical strength and repetitive activities. "
Opportunities
Among the trendsetting technologies, Javier Minsky, CEO of Virtualmind, highlights artificial intelligence and machine learning, "that apply to any industry and bring innumerable benefits," and that the "paradigm shift that entails presents a world lots of opportunities. "
Alejandro Servide, director of Professionals at Randstad Argentina, agrees that "the advancement of these disciplines will lead to new professions and job positions: from robots and automation specialists, to architects of Internet of Things solutions".
According to a survey carried out by Workana to analyze the trends of 2019, the technologies that currently generate the most employment are: mobile application development, Cloud, IA, Cybersecurity, UX (User Experience) and Web programming tools, such as MySql, React and PHP.
Siseles reveals iProUP as a very interesting profession that appears from the analysis and use of data, which is the profile of the Data Scientist or Data Scientist.
"It has been qualified as the 'sexiest profession of the century' by Harvard Business Review, due to its high global demand and high compensation.A Data Scientist analyzes and interprets information, systematized or not, to find solutions and anticipate problems or even for marketing or commercial plans, "he explains.
In this sense, companies require more and more analytical information to anticipate the future of their industry and handle large amounts of information.
And he remarks: "At the same time, everything related to specialties such as Blockchain will be very required positions during these next years".
For his part, the Randstad executive adds that, as a result of innovation, firms are requesting new positions. Some of them are: Traffic manager, Growth Hacker, Digital Communication Manager, Digital Designer, Customer Intelligence Analyst, Digital Account Manager, Chief Information Security Officer, E-logistic Manager and Quantitative Analyst.
"These are just some examples of the positions that appear in the market, they have a strong imprint of innovation and are a consequence of the progress of the digitalization of business processes," he told iProUP.
Finally, according to the Indra spokesperson, "the jobs derived from the advancement of genetics and neurobiology will also show great growth".
According to his analysis, "drone pilots, gamification experts, robot operators, community managers and eCommerce specialists are very popular today".
