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Ireland – Technology will eat jobs and trigger higher unemployment, says CPL Resources CEO

27 November 2014

There is a “real likelihood” that Ireland will have to accept higher levels of unemployment as technology advances, according to Anne Heraty, the CEO of recruitment firm CPL Resources, reports The Irish Independent

"The economists say normal unemployment is about 4% or 4.5% in any economy, I'm thinking maybe 6% might be a more normal one. I'm not suggesting we should give up at 6%, I'm just thinking it takes a long time to create jobs and get people into jobs and get people trained for the right jobs," she said.

"If we look to the States, for example, to the likes of the Amazon warehouses, they're great for consumers, super efficiency, prices are lower, but actually you're losing swathes of jobs there where robots are starting to do that kind of work."

Citing a recent report from Deloitte, carried out in conjunction with Oxford University, which concluded that 35% of UK jobs are at risk from automation over the next two decades, she added: "I'm not too pessimistic about it though because I do think that other and newer jobs are coming forward...but our education system needs to keep pace, people need to concentrate on their skills, really focus on keeping your skills up to date.”

"My advice to everybody is to look ahead to where the jobs are going to be, not to where they are today... plan ahead when you're thinking about your career," she concluded.