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Sarah O'Connor (FT) asks what happens when AI removes basic work from which new/junior staff learn the ropes?
One source she consulted 'wondered if we might one day see a return of the old apprenticeship system that existed in much of Europe before the industrial revolution, in which families who could afford it would pay for their offspring to be apprenticed to a master. The implications of this for social mobility — already not great in many professions — go without saying'!
@ChrisMayLA6 I think schools will have to improve, and, there will be some kind of apprentice system. Companies hiring mid-level staff will also either have to pay more, or lower their expectations.
Schools & universities will certainly have to be more attentive to the 'mid-career' skills required if that is where people's real-world careers are going to (now) start in some professions - it may also required firms to offer a 'foundation' training cycle at the start of employment - which implies tying staff into a contract to cover the costs (a sort of indentured employment?)
@ChrisMayLA6 I think this already exsits in some places.
I was actually thinking about that concept myself... taking in students, educating them within a company, and if they leave without finishing, charging them, and if they stay for a year or two, writing off the education expense. I think this type of schooling might have a viable future, since it allows the company to tailor the training exactly to their own products and processes.
The Q. for the prospective employee I guess is what is the trade off between knowledge acquisition & firm-specific non-transferable education... but perhaps this is not so much a recent problem?
@ChrisMayLA6 Within the IT field it definitely exists. On the other hand, there are a few giants (Microsoft, Amazon, Google) who are so big that you can live an entire workinglife within their ecosystem.