Workers fear for future as they think their job will be obsolete in next five years

The PricewaterhouseCoopers research also found that 39 per cent of Midlands workers surveyed are ready to learn new skills or completely retrain in order to remain employable in the future

Across the region, 31 per cent of workers feel positively about how the future world of work will affect them in contrast to 37 per cent in the UK and 50 per cent globally

PwC’s 'Upskilling Hopes and Fears 2021' study finds that fewer than a third (29 per cent) of female workers in the UK feel positively about how the future world of work is likely to affect them compared to nearly half (45 per cent) of men. More women (41 per cent) also say they feel nervous about what the future holds for them than men (29 per cent).

The findings follow a separate PwC study released at the start of March which showed that women are more likely to have been furloughed, as female-dominated industries such as accommodation and food services, and arts and entertainment were most affected by lockdowns.

Just over a third (37 per cent) of women responding to the latest survey feel that technological advancements will improve their future job prospects compared to 44 per cent of men.

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According to the study, workers from ethnic minority backgrounds are also more likely to think their jobs may not exist in the near future than those who are white. More than a quarter (27 per cent) of respondents from ethnic minority backgrounds believe it is likely their job could be gone within five years compared to 18 per cent of white employees.

And nearly half (43 per cent) of workers from ethnic minority backgrounds say they lack access to technology which in turn limits their opportunity to learn new skills - higher than the one third (33 per cent) of white employees who responded in the same way.

Nick Hatton, Midlands place and purpose leader at PwC, said: “Given the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women’s jobs, it’s no surprise that they feel less positive about the future of work. However, it is important that organisations think carefully about how the introduction of new technology and ways of working will impact their female employees.

"If women are less positive, they may be less immediately active in engaging with new technology and reskilling programmes, with a resulting knock on impact on their experiences at work. The way, time or format through which they are delivered could all be significant factors in ensuring women have equal access to upskilling opportunities.

“Business should also carefully monitor diversity data around the uptake of opportunities to reskill. It is concerning to see the larger proportion of ethnic minority workers who believe their jobs may not exist in the next five years.

"Employers need to act now to ensure that ethnic minorities are not disproportionately impacted by changes to jobs and that opportunities to reskill are identified and highlighted to these groups. Concerns about future job security can also have a very real impact on wellbeing.

"Appropriate monitoring is not possible without high quality data. As such, a crucial first step to ensuring that future workforce planning is fair and equitable, is working to collect data on the diversity of the current workforce.”