A majority of employers globally, 87%, plan to increase or maintain headcount as a result of automation, according to ManpowerGroup’s (NYSE: MAN) new report, “Humans Wanted: Robots Need You.” The report is based on a survey of 19,000 employers in 44 countries about the impact of automation on job growth in the next two years.

Rather than reducing employment opportunities, organisations that are automating create the most jobs, the report found. Of the 41% of companies that will automate tasks over the next two years, 24% will create more jobs, six percentage points more than those that don’t plan to automate.

The report also found strong demand for IT skills; 16% of companies expect to increase headcount in IT, five times more than those expecting a decrease. Production and manufacturing employers anticipate the most change in headcount, with 25% reporting they will employ more people in the next year, while 20% say they will employ fewer. Growth will come in front line and as well as customer-facing roles — all requiring human skills such as communication, negotiation, leadership and adaptability.

“The focus on robots eliminating jobs is distracting us from the real issue,” ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jonas Prising said. “More and more robots are being added to the workforce, but humans are too. Tech is here to stay and it’s our responsibility as leaders to become chief learning officers and work out how we integrate humans with machines.”

Prising said ManpowerGroup is reskilling people from declining industries like textiles for jobs in high-growth industries including cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and autonomous driving.

“If we focus on practical steps to upskill people at speed and at scale, organisations and individuals really can befriend the machines,” he said.