Technology and Skilled Workers -Which Is The Chicken and Which Is The Egg?
by
Charlie Bess
In a recent Philadelphia Reserve Business Review there was an article about a supply-side vs. demand-side issue that interested me. The question posed was: “Is technology raising demand for skills or are skills raising demand for technology?” In other words, is business change requiring more highly skilled workers or is the more highly skilled workforce creating the demand?
The article describes why the force behind technology adoption may really be the workforce’s need for more skilled counterparts. In the conclusion it states, “The spread of new technologies responds to the rising skills of the workforce, rather than being an independent force affecting the demand for skills.”
The implications on organizations with an aging workforce are important. If this argument is true, the innovation and demands of the replacement workers will likely spur complacent organizations forward in unintended ways. As personnel turnover takes place, the entire organization will be affected so organizations should be able to plan for this.
