Changing attitudes

Despite increasing concern that the country is stumbling to a huge employment problem, the study found that Australia was the second most optimistic country on the impact of intelligent technologies in the sample, behind Japan.

Accenture's Global Human Capital lead for Financial Services, Andrew Woolf told The Australian Financial Review, the pace of technology change was accelerating and reskilling staff, rather than replacing them was part of the solution to the challenge.

"I have seen a marked shift in industry sentiment that now recognises the opportunity automation and AI presents to their businesses," Mr Woolf said.

"CEOs and other leaders who are forward thinking and are willing to invest in the new skills will be rewarded through increased employee engagement and a more innovative culture, ultimately leading to superior business performance."

Portrait of Andrew Woolf, Global Human Capital Lead, Accenture, near their Barangaroo Office. 25th January 2018, Photo: Wolter Peeters, The Sydney Morning Herald. Wolter Peeters

Reskilling for new jobs

While much of the discourse around the emergence of AI has focused on the threat to jobs, Accenture's report says 40 per cent of employers are reporting talent shortages, and suggests the gap between supply and demand is likely to increase due to a dramatic shift in expected skills requirements.


While workers in some sectors – such as professional drivers – will remain concerned about the rise of automation, Accenture suggested retraining would be an option for everyone as, by 2020, more than one-third of the desired skill sets of most jobs would be comprised of skills not yet considered crucial today.

The report discusses the rise of freelancing, often discussed in terms of the gig economy, and suggests many workers do not think as much about job security and single organisation progression as their forbears.

"Our research shows 76 per cent of Millennials are interested in freelancing. Fundamentally this huge segment of the workforce is valuing flexibility over longevity of role, so the relative importance of security is therefore in decline," Mr Woolf said.

"The average worker will move on within five years and our higher-skilled workers are the most interested group in freelancing – this may give rise to more flexible labour policies to accommodate an adaptive workforce."