Quarter of Aussie jobs on automation chopping block, new report into AI warns

A quarter of Australian jobs are at high risk of being lost to automation without major upskilling, new research from a global education company finds. The report says Australian workers face a $104bn economic black hole of lost earnings because of this automation and flow on effects. Commissioned by education provider and industry analyser Pearson, the research says Australian training institutes and employers are investing to cut down on the economic lag and downtime - brought by automation - as people retrain or look for work. “Australia’s share of employment at high risk of automation is 26 per cent, mainly driven by its share of employment in construction (9 per cent) and manufacturing (6 per cent), industries particularly vulnerable to automation,” the research finds. “Automation technologies - such as robotic process automation, large language model chatbots, agentic AI models, and autonomous mobile robotics - require individuals to re-skill for completely new or changed tasks.” Jobs in retail, finance and media are most susceptible to generative AI, the researchers say. Broadly, jobs in hospitality, sanitation and cleaning are expected to be least effected by automation. Pearson also wants internationally recognised Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) qualifications to be recognised in Australia. “Pearson has awarded more than six million BTECs globally - rigorous, future-focused qualifications in fields like IT, construction, business, and science,” Pearson Australia executive, Taha Haidermota said. “These are widely recognised internationally, but not in Australia. At a time when the nation faces skills shortages in key industries, recognising reputable international qualifications could help skilled migrants step into the jobs they are trained for and play a meaningful role in lifting productivity.” “Vocational training and pathways into employment are critical to Australia’s future prosperity, but there is more we can do to ensure skilled workers can contribute fully to the economy.” Commissioned by publicly-listed, London-based Pearson, the analysis used data from the Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Education to look at major transition points in peoples’ working lives; the move from education to work, redundancies, and disruption caused by automation. Future projections for automation were then used to map out high-risk jobs. The analysis estimates this automation overhaul will rip $104bn of earnings from the Australian economy; 75.7 per cent of which is directly because of automation, the remainder due to re-education and people moving between jobs. Jobs and Skills Australia says doomsday predictions about automation completely up-ending the Australian economy are overblown. A major report from the agency, released last month, finds office clerks, receptionists, bookkeepers, people in sales, marketing and public relations, business and systems analysts and programmers will see the highest job losses by 2050.