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Four out of ten young people believe machines will be able to do their jobs within a decade

A new international survey published today shows four out of ten young people believe machines will be able to do their jobs within a decade.

Nearly half of young workers surveyed in western countries said their education did no prepare them to do their jobs.

The skills gap is especially pronounced in Europe, according to a poll of 9,000 16 to 25 year olds in none of the world’s biggest nations commissioned by Indian business and software services firm Infosys.

Almost 80 percent globally said they had to learn new skills not taught them in school and that rapid technology change – the treat of being overtaken by robots and smart systems – required constant learning of fresh skills to compensate.

The study surveyed around 1,000 young people each in Australia, Brazil, Britain, China, France, Germany, India and the United States, as well as South Africa, where a smaller sample of 700 was polled.

Globally, while almost two-thirds of those queried said they felt positive about their job prospects, those in developing markets Brazil, China, India and South Africa were far more optimistic than their peers in developed markets.

While in India, 60 percent said they think they have the skills needed for their careers, just a quarter were similarly optimistic in France, the poll found.

The survey also showed that the level of confidence which young people had in their technical skills correlated with their beliefs in their future career prospects.

The survey was conducted by London-based ICM Unlimited. It was released ahead of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, which is focused on what it describes as the “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” the broad social and economic shifts taking place due to disruptive digital technologies. (Reuters)

For more on this article, please visit: Business World

ISME has warned that business competitiveness is decreasing steadily due to rising business costs

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME), has warned that business competitiveness is decreasing steadily due to rising business costs. The association expressed concern at the increases in labour, insurance, local charges and utilities, disguised in the overall inflation figure of 0.1%.

ISME points out that December the change in the Consumer Price Index was +0.1% in the year and -0.1% in the month.

For more on this article, please visit: Business World

A new survey finds jobseekers lie all the time on their CVs

A new survey carried out by Cpl has found jobseekers lie all the time on their CVs, and mostly on things it would be easy to verify. Job applicants systematically lie about their qualifications (79%), position titles (64%), responsibilities (52%) and references (23%), with only fifty percent of employers bother to check references.

Sixty percent of women jobseekers feel that they are paid less than men, but only 1/3 of men believe they get paid more.

Fifty three percent of women think men are treated more favourable in work, while seventy percent of men believe that both genders are treated equally.

Only one percent of female respondents believe that women are treated more favourable than men.

For more on this article, please visit: Business World

Dublin to host the largest ever gathering of Social Media Professionals in Ireland

The largest ever gathering of Social Media Professionals in Ireland will convene in Dublin’s Helix venue for the two-day Social Media Summit on 1st and 2nd March.

The event aims to provide support for new and emerging businesses in the field of social media in Ireland, from start-ups to global brands, by focusing on Social Media priorities, learning, best practice and future strategy planning with some of the world’s leading experts.

The keynote speaker for the event will be internationally renowned Social media Strategist Ted Rubin who was recently named number 13 in Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers.

Other internationally renowned speakers include Ian Cleary, founder of RazorSocial and one of the top 50 content marketers and social media professionals; Melonie Dodaro, author of the number 1 international bestseller ‘The LinkedIn Code’; Robert C Stern, The Social Leader.

For more on this article, please visit: Business World

Employment in the Irish multinational sector grew by 6.8% in 2015

According to the Irish Industrial Development Authority annual survey of employment in multinational companies, employment in the Irish multinational sector grew by 6.8% in 2015 to a fresh high of 187,000.

This is the sharpest pace of job creation in the sector since the survey began in 2003 and compares with 4.9% gain in 201.

For the first time, employment growth in multinationals outside the Dublin and mid-east region has outpaced the capital for the first time. Of total 11,833 jobs created 5,793 were in Dublin and mid-east region but 6,040 were from multinational sector companies located in the rest of the country.

The means that 53% of the jobs created by IDA client companies in2915 were outside Dublin. Nonetheless, multinational sector employment still grew by a robust 6.8% in the capital.

For more on this article, please visit: Business World

Irish online shopping fuelled a 6.6 per cent year-on-year jump in consumer spending last month

According to a new report by Visa Europe, a record increase in Irish online shopping fuelled a 6.6 per cent year-on-year jump in consumer spending last month.

The latest consumer spending index indicates that ecommerce spend was up 16 per cent on December 2014, the biggest ever increase since the survey’s history.

Face-to-face expenditure also increased in December, but at a lower rate than last year. He result are likely to lead to more calls for Irish business to improve and increase their online presence.

The survey, carried out in conjunction with financial information services provider Markit, is based on spending on all Visa debit, credit and prepaid cards, which are used to make an average of 110 million transactions every quarter, and which Visa Europe say account for €1 in €3 of all Irish consumer spending.

Spending on household goods rose 10.8pc year-on-year in December, while spending on health and education rose 10.7pc.

For more on this article, please visit: Irish Independent