3b The effects of the use of on-line services

The effects of the use of on-line services on employment

Mr. Powell

General Staff – unemployment

• Mass unemployment induced by technology include– Production lines replaced by robots– Clerical duties such as payroll– Unskilled labor i.e. car parks

• Many jobs have been lost because – ICT can improve efficiency– Less people employed to complete a

task

Examples

• Manufacturing– Skilled technicians replaced by

computer controlled robots– Dirty & dangerous jobs replaced by data

logging & sensors– ‘routine sampling’ for quality control

done using automatic samplers

• Warehouse / Stock Control– Loading & sorting replaced by automatic

fork lifts and computer cataloging system

Examples

• Office– Typist replaced by word processing– Payroll clerks replaced by spreadsheets– Paper-based filing systems replaced by a

database

• Communications – phone system– Operators replaced by computer systems &

automated answering service

• Retail– Online shopping removes need for cashiers &

sales staff– Stock control staff replaced by bar code reader

systems and database

Technical staff opportunities

• ICT has also created jobs, such as programmers, analysts, technicians, etc

• Many jobs in other industries have been created because:– Engineers building computerized machines– Programmers to write programs & routines– Systems analyst to design systems– Skilled workers to operate new machinery– Skilled workers to use applications software

such as graphic designers, web administrators & cad developers