NOW that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is in full swing, employers are increasingly focused on developing technical skills and digital fluency. In our own firm, for example, there is a growing demand for professionals with highly specific skills and experiences in, say, cyber security and big data. You could say it is humanity’s way of staying on top of the technology it is developing and adopting at breakneck speed. And for good reason.

According to a 2017 report from McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), almost half the activities people are paid to do globally could be automated using robots, artificial intelligence (AI), and other forms of technology. For the Philippines, MGI estimates that 48 percent of employees’ activity could be automated. That would mean the loss of about 18.2 million jobs.