5.3 Words connected with work • phrases describing change

Choose the correct option to complete the extract.

P: Dr Atkins, what do you think the world of work will look like ten years from now?
DA: Well, it certainly won't look the same as now. Technology now enables us         [working, to work] anywhere and so there's been a steady rise in people working from home and a sharp drop in the number of people commuting to work.
P: As technology takes over tasks that people            [used to do, will do], what kind of skills will be useful for people in the future?
DA: People will have to focus on the kind of skills that       [can't, must] be done by a machine or a robot such as             [leadership, professions] and management jobs or caring for other humans.
P: So you don't think that dentists and teachers should worry about their jobs just yet.
DA: No, definitely not. The need for jobs in the medical and teaching                     [creative industries, professions] will remain constant. Many of the traditional jobs will still be necessary ten or twenty years from now - we'll always need lawyers, politicians, fire-fighters and so on. And we         [won't, mustn't] forget the                     [professions, creative industries] : we'll always need artists, writers and actors. I also think there will be a marked increase in jobs connected with alternative energy.
P: So which jobs do you think are at risk in the future?
DA: Um, I think there will be a gradual decline in jobs in retail - shop assistants          [can't be, aren't] required in the days of online shopping. Any office jobs and
factory jobs that                 [can be, could have been] done by computers and robots will disappear.
P: Finally, can you name any            [commuting, job titles] that don't exist now and will in the future?
DA: I think we'll see jobs like body-part maker, robot mechanic and space               [job title, tourist guide] . But I could be completely wrong!

Match the words and phrases with the definitions.

Choose the correct words to make sentences about the information in the graphs.

1 There has been             [a drop, an increase] in the number of young people out of work.
2 We're expecting a        [steady, sharp] rise in the number of teenagers entering higher education.
3 The number of 17-year-olds who work part-time will remain          [marked, constant].
4 There has been a         [gradual, rapid] decline in the number of Polish people moving to the UK.
5 A         [growing, steady] number of secondary school students are seeking Saturday jobs.