A total of 75m jobs will disappear in the coming decade due to the 4th Industrial Revolution, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat said, during the inauguration of new technology projects in Sohag governorate. Egypt plans to establish technological complexes in Menoufia, Mansoura, Minya, Sohag, South Valley, Qena, and Aswan universities in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education, Talaat announced. The visit witnessed an open discussion between the Minister and students from the Faculty of Computers and Information, University of Sohag, and trainees from the Information Technology Institute (ITI) in the university. Talaat emphasised the uniqueness of the 4th Industrial Revolution, the unprecedented acceleration in the rate of adoption of technology and the escalation of its pace, in addition to mixing technologies. He pointed out that what can be provided by artificial intelligence technology alone is different from what can be provided through its combination with fifth generation technology, the Internet of Things, and cyber security, ushering in a new era of computing. However, the 4th Industrial Revolution will create some challenges, mainly the disappearance of about 75m jobs around the world in the next ten years. Even though, Talaat mentioned, some international reports indicated that those jobs will be replaced by about 133m new jobs, stressing that youth should acquire the skills necessary for this transformation. The digital transformation of Egypt is the responsibility of everyone in the country: the government, the private sector, the civil society, and universities. He called upon students to continuously learn and gain new skills to keep pace with today's rapidly changing labour market, which is centred on the ability to learn.
