Jobs not Threatened by Automation in the Future in the Slovak Republic

Industry 4.0 brings with it an increase in new forms and methods of work based on automation and digitization, which gradually threaten jobs in individual countries. Most studies published on this topic describe the expected proportion of jobs that are threatened with extinction. The aim of the presented study is to investigate the opportunities that the introduction of Industry 4.0 brings with it. The presented study calculates the share of jobs with a low risk of being threatened by automation in the Slovak Republic. This is a unique approach to researching the impact of innovation trends on the labor market, which identifies jobs that are difficult to replace by machines. The calculation of the share of jobs with a low risk of being threatened by automation is based on the connection of two data sources – National system of occupations (a description of the skills required for every job in the Slovak Republic) and Information system on the price of work (modern and effective national labour cost statistical survey focus on wage earnings, including the calculation of the number of employees in individual job positions). Of the total number of 2 million working people in the Slovak Republic, 24% will not be threatened by automation. These are jobs that require at least one of the following skills for their performance: creativity, organizing and planning work, the ability to make decisions and take responsibility, leadership skills, critical thinking and talent. Several authors investigating the issue of innovations and their effects on jobs define the above-mentioned skills as difficult to be replaced by machines. The findings presented in the paper create space for further discussion at the national level about which skills and competences will need to be supported in lifelong learning among employees in order to prevent the high rate of replacement of jobs by automation, which the OECD predicts for the Slovak Republic.