which technology may boost
employment. However, the future of
work is in our hands and in the policy
decisions made by governments.
A large portion of adults will need
to upskill or retrain to meet the
needs of future jobs as automation
replaces many less-skilled functions
and, while new jobs will emerge,
transitions may not be so easy.
F&B in Australia
and New Zealand
According to Austrade, food and
beverage processing is Australia’s
largest manufacturing industry. The
State of the Industry 2018 Report:
Food and Grocery the Future of
Australian Manufacturing has valued
the food and beverage sector at
$131 billion. The industry directly
employs 324,450 people, which
represents nearly 40 per cent of
Australian manufacturing jobs.
During 2017-18 international exports
rose 7.7% to $36.1bn. The Beyond
commodities: Manufacturing into the
future report, by the New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation and
Employment lists F&B as the largest
of all manufacturing subsectors. It
directly employs more than 240,000
people and accounts for over half
of the total exports. F&B exports
account for $26 billion, or 71% of
all manufactured goods and the
subsector makes up 32% of all
manufacturing output. However,
with input costs such as higher
commodity prices influenced by
the drought as well as rising energy
costs, the sector is navigating a
tough environment.
When you think about these factors
and the OECD report, it makes you
question what is the future of work
in the F&B industry? As with all
challenges come opportunities, and
the industry needs to understand
where the issues lie and how these
can be converted to commercial
opportunities which innovate,
disrupt or diversify an enterprise
and the industry. Of course, this
involves people that will develop
new technologies and create new
products, leading to new revenue
streams.
What the CEOs in the F&B industry
should be asking themselves is why
they need to embrace technology,
if they haven’t already. Digitalisation
will help producers to reduce
costs without compromising the
quality of their products. Not only
that but IT will also enable more
effective management of complex
operations. This is something that
is occurring globally and given that
Industry 4.0 means everything will
be automated, how can the Australia
and New Zealand F&B sectors stay
competitive as well as ensuring the
future of jobs?
People are essential
commodities
People need to eat, and food and
drinks will continually be developed
to meet these needs. Added to this
is Australia’s international reputation
for being a source of safe and
high-quality produce. There is no
shortage of trade partners looking
to import our valuable, locally grown
commodities. To meet the supply
and demand, we need people
throughout the supply chain to
oversee this process and ensure
manufacturers are delivering to
growing consumer demands – both
domestic and globally. Machines
don’t have the creativity and type
of intellectual capacity required to
develop new ideas and technologies,
to interpret data from automated
systems and ensure they’re
continuing to allow better efficiencies
for manufacturers. Humans are
"The report estimates 14%
of existing jobs could
disappear over the next
15 to 20 years, and 32% are
likely to change radically."
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