The future of work and uncertain labour alternatives as we live through the industrial age of possible singularity: Evidence from South Africa

Bianca Ifeoma Chigbu and Fhulu H. Nekhwevha

Technology in Society, 2021, vol. 67, issue C

Abstract: This paper focused on uncovering the preparedness of the automobile labour force in embracing the outcome of technological domination in the motor industry in South Africa. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were initiated to generate data from three motor companies with purposively selected 30 participants. Findings revealed that auto employees who are not electrically inclined are self-encouraged to seek technical and electrical careers to secure a future in the automobile industry. These workers may also pursue careers in computer science. Many autoworkers have supplemented and stabilized their incomes through FOREX and Bitcoin mining trading. Simultaneously, these employees are receptive to changing careers in agriculture. Again, autoworkers prefer self-employment to the job insecurity associated with industrial positions. In general, motivation for upskilling for a future job in the automotive industry is low. Before the Covid-19 crisis, organizations were adopting new ways of doing business that tend to unready workers' readiness. This trend increased very steeply during the pandemic. Retraining and reskilling as steps for workers' readiness to face job automation are not outright answers that will lead to job security. Nonetheless, automobile workers have to treat their careers as businesses and invest in skills under the umbrella of non-automatable technical and non-technical job families.

Keywords: Job automation; Precarious work; Technological unemployment; Future of work; Reskilling; Upskilling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X21001901
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:teinso:v:67:y:2021:i:c:s0160791x21001901

DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2021.101715

Access Statistics for this article

Technology in Society is currently edited by Charla Griffy-Brown

More articles in Technology in Society from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().