Half of Scotland's jobs could be done by machines in over 10 years: report warns

More than a million jobs in Scotland, almost half of the total, will face being lost by 2030 through automation in the workplace, a report by an Edinburgh-based think tank warned Sunday.

The cross-party Institute for Public Policy Research Scotland (IPPR) said its report identifies gaps and overlaps in Scotland's skill provisions and proposes how they can be remedied to ensure inclusive economic growth in future.

IPPR said while the Scottish labor market has improved in recent years, it continues to suffer from lower rates of in-work progression and productivity than Britain as a whole, and pay rates also lag behind.

"The world of work in 2030 will be very different to that in 2017. People are more likely to be working longer, and will often have multiple jobs, with multiple employers and in multiple careers," the report predicted.

"Over 2.5 million adults of working age in Scotland today (nearly 80 percent) will still be of working age by 2030. At the same time, over 46 percent of jobs (1.2 million) in Scotland are at high risk of automation. We will need a skills system ready to work with people throughout their careers."

It added that while Scotland has the best record within Britain for employers investing in training, there is still much to be improved on, with too many employers adopting a low-skill business model.

IPPR Scotland has put forward a number of recommendations in their report, including a proposal for a new Open Institute of Technology (OIT) for Scotland, to provide a flexible and transferable mid-career learning route. It has also suggested a focus on in-work progression, productivity and pay outcomes and tests of demand from classroom to boardroom.

"By making changes now, we can ensure the skills system is at the center of supporting Scotland's economy through the short and long-term challenges it faces, and delivering the inclusive economic growth we wish to see," said the report.

IPPR Scotland director Russell Gunson said: "Scotland urgently needs to design a skills system better able to work with people already into their careers to help them to retrain, re-skill and respond to world of work of 2030.

"To respond to the huge changes facing Scotland around demographic, technological and climate change, and of course Brexit, we're going to have to focus on retrofitting the current workforce to provide them with the skills they need, to deliver the inclusive economic growth we wish to see.

"Our report makes a number of recommendations to help Scotland plot a path through these challenges, to reform the skills system in Scotland, to help to secure an economy that delivers fairness and reduces inequality." Endit