Data-entry keyers, accountants among five careers most at risk from technology

Advancing technology has been tipped to take over several careers in the years to come. Find out if your job is in the firing line, and what you can do to future proof it.

Data-entry operators will likely be made redundant in the next five years, a recruitment expert warns, as technology places it and other careers like accounting and bookkeeping at risk.

While no occupation will be immune from the reaches of tech, Hays APAC managing director Shane Little believes the data-entry workforce is most in danger of disappearing.

“Data entry, in its simplest form, is likely to be gone in five years,” he says.

“If I was in a pure data-entry role, I would be considering, researching and overhauling the trajectory of my career path.”

Little says software applications, or bots, will typically take over the role of data entry. But a human workforce will still be needed to check for accuracy, providing opportunities for some displaced workers.

He says strong “human skills” – which include communication, collaboration, teamwork and resilience – will be key to futureproofing careers in an increasingly tech-driven world.

Recruitment expert Shane Little says technology will impact all occupations.

The jobs most at risk

Bookkeepers, accountants and auditing clerks are the jobs most likely to be impacted by technology within the next decade, according to education giant Pearson.

Data-entry keyers – of which there are about 45,000 full-time equivalent workers in Australia – are also high on the list, alongside cashiers, medical secretaries and administrative assistants, and tellers.

Little says tech will also have a major impact on customer service workers, particularly those employed within call centres.

While Pearson’s research is bound to spark fear for those in professions deemed at highest risk, Little says other workers cannot afford to become complacent, with every job set to be disrupted by technology.

“Whether you are in a leadership role, whether you are in a graduate level (position) in the workplace or a tradesperson working in a manual environment, it (tech) is impacting everyone,” he says.

The changing face of work

In most cases, technology will not obliterate roles. But it will significantly change them, Little says.

Pearson workforce skills principal consultant Catriona Miriklis agrees and says far from being concerned about the impending impact of technology, workers should embrace the changes it will bring.

“I don’t think (workers) need to be scared,” Miriklis says.

“We will still have some accountants, some bookkeepers, some cashiers. We are never going to be without those jobs, at least (not) immediately.

“(The impact of tech will) not … always (be) about replacing people. It can do some of the tasks (in a role) that are quite boring and free up your time for something you might enjoy more.”

Miriklis expects many affected workers to transition to a new variant of their current role, including some jobs not yet created.

“There will be new jobs, new versions of those (original) roles that are a bit different to what they are today,” she says.

“Maybe they have new titles but people in those (tech-affected jobs) are well suited to step into the new jobs, using a lot of the same skill set.”

Safeguarding your career

Being willing to adopt new technology, and foresee the changes it will have on roles, will help workers to “stay ahead of the curve” and futureproof their career, Miriklis says.

She agrees with Little that workers should seek to improve their soft skills to capitalise on the tasks unable to be performed by technology.

“Typically, we will see these (newly created and future) jobs will require more skills that tech is not so good at,” she says.

“Think about (improving) your core human skills – your data literacy skills and things like … your critical thinking (and) your leadership skills that we know people are better at than tech.”

Technology has significantly impacted Jimmy Nguyen's job during his 10 years as an accountant.

Working smarter

Jimmy Nguyen has worked as an accountant for the past 10 years and says technology has already significantly impacted his job.

But rather than worry about being replaced by tech, Nguyen prefers to focus on the opportunities it provides, including greater efficiency in billing and managing workflow.

“The time it saves (on more menial tasks) means I can focus on higher-level tasks, like advising clients, instead of getting bogged down in admin,” he says.

“While things will definitely evolve, I don’t think accounting is going anywhere.

“The key is using tech to work smarter and focus on what really matters – helping clients succeed.”

Meagan Wood, head of accountants at Intuit QuickBooks Australia, says the accounting industry is one of the fastest adopters of artificial intelligence, used by 99.6 per cent of the profession.

Where accountants could previously only report on past events, technology now allows them to provide real-time insights to clients and has also improved accuracy and efficiency by reducing human error, Wood says.

“For the most part, accountants and bookkeepers feel really optimistic about the role technology is playing in their careers,” she says.

“Accountants will still be essential in their roles but the skills they need are evolving.”

The top jobs most likely to be impacted by tech in the next decade:

1. Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks – employs 220,000 full-time equivalent Australian workers

2. Cashiers – employs 120,000 FTE Australians

3. Medical secretaries and administrative assistants – employs 90,000 FTE Australians

4. Data-entry keyers – employs 45,000 FTE Australians

5. Tellers – employs 45,000 FTE Australians

Source: Pearson