NARRATOR:
You will hear two students, you will hear two students, discussing a seminar about automation and the future of employment.
NARRATOR:
First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 24.
NARRATOR:
Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 24.
YOUNG MAN:
Yesterday's seminar about automation and where work is heading was excellent, wasn't it?
YOUNG MAN:
Looking back at Britain's first industrial revolution in the 19th century and seeing how people responded to such enormous change really opened my eyes.
YOUNG WOMAN:
It was fascinating to learn what workers thought about mechanisation then and the problems it brought.
YOUNG WOMAN:
I hadn't realised the earliest resistance came from textile workers.
YOUNG MAN:
Those protesters were the Luddites, weren't they?
YOUNG MAN:
They smashed knitting machinery because they feared it would take away their livelihoods.
YOUNG WOMAN:
Yes, although in the end their campaign got nowhere.
YOUNG WOMAN:
And overall, industrialisation produced more employment than it eliminated.
YOUNG MAN:
True, but none of that would have felt reassuring to them at the time.
YOUNG MAN:
Their fear makes perfect sense to me.
YOUNG WOMAN:
Then the seminar turned to tomorrow's workplace and, unusually, the picture was very positive.
YOUNG WOMAN:
I liked the suggestion that robots will handle dull, repeated tasks, leaving people with more worthwhile work.
YOUNG WOMAN:
We normally hear nothing but gloomy forecasts.
YOUNG MAN:
I thought that part went too far.
YOUNG MAN:
Take the claim that we'll have much more free time.
YOUNG MAN:
How can that happen when the figures show we're working longer hours than ever?
YOUNG WOMAN:
And the prediction that fewer people will be unemployed didn't convince me either.
YOUNG MAN:
Maybe that could happen eventually, but I don't expect it any time soon.
YOUNG WOMAN:
And with people living longer, I think most of us will be required to stay in work until a later age.
YOUNG MAN:
We're already seeing that now.
NARRATOR:
Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30.
NARRATOR:
Now listen and answer questions 25 to 30.
YOUNG WOMAN:
The section on how technology has altered different occupations, and what might happen to them next, was especially interesting.
YOUNG MAN:
Accountancy was a surprise.
YOUNG MAN:
You might assume new technology had removed many of those posts, yet the profession employs more people than at any earlier point.
YOUNG MAN:
Accountants are still sought after, and their productivity has risen considerably.
YOUNG WOMAN:
I couldn't believe there are 20 times as many accountants here as there were in the 19th century.
YOUNG MAN:
And demand for hairdressers has climbed dramatically over the past hundred years.
YOUNG MAN:
Today there is one for every 287 people, rather than one for more than 1,500.
YOUNG WOMAN:
That's because people have more money left after essential expenses, so they can pay for personal services like haircuts more often.
YOUNG MAN:
Though the basic work itself hasn't been transformed much by technology.
YOUNG WOMAN:
Hair dryers have been introduced, of course, but hairdressing doesn't rely heavily on computers.
YOUNG WOMAN:
Administrative work is a very different story.
YOUNG WOMAN:
Technology has reshaped it completely.
YOUNG WOMAN:
As recently as 20 years ago, many secretaries spent their time taking dictation and typing.
YOUNG MAN:
Which sounds extremely repetitive compared with today, when administrative employees are trusted with broader duties and have a more respected role.
YOUNG WOMAN:
Yes, and it's now an area that attracts plenty of graduates.
YOUNG WOMAN:
I was surprised the 19th century figure for farm workers wasn't higher.
YOUNG WOMAN:
The 1871 census showed that about a quarter of the population worked in agriculture.
YOUNG MAN:
I'd have guessed over half.
YOUNG MAN:
These days the proportion is below 0.2%. And care workers?
YOUNG MAN:
There were hardly any in the 19th century because people generally didn't live as long.
YOUNG MAN:
Now, however, demand for care services is certain to grow enormously.
YOUNG WOMAN:
We already struggle to provide enough of them.
YOUNG WOMAN:
Bank clerks, by contrast, don't have a promising future.
YOUNG WOMAN:
Their numbers have been shrinking since cash machines arrived in the 1980s.
YOUNG MAN:
And I think technology will make most of the work they currently do unnecessary.
YOUNG WOMAN:
Though things could still turn out differently, predicting the future is never easy.
NARRATOR:
That is the end of part three.
NARRATOR:
You now have one minute to check your answers to part three.
