IT has probably never been more important for educationalists to consider the future and what tomorrow’s world will look like for the pupils we educate, especially when we consider that 6 per cent of jobs in 2013 did not exist in 1990.

So clearly the dilemma for schools is to ensure that pupils receive quality careers advice even though we are advising on some careers which don’t even exist yet.

But a high level of general education will help to future-proof children who will be entering a job market where robotics and automation will play an increasingly significant role.

PricewaterhouseCoopers have recently analysed the likely impact of robotics and automation on education and other occupations by the early 2030s when today’s primary school pupils will be entering the job market.

About 30 per cent of jobs in the UK are at potential high risk of automation. So how is this relevant for today’s school children? Well a key factor for our current pupils in this shifting market will be their education: for those in the UK achieving only GCSE level education or lower, the estimated potential risk of loss of jobs through automation is as high as 46 per cent by the 2030s, but this falls to only 12 per cent for those with undergraduate degrees or higher.

Robotics will create some totally new jobs and generate additional wealth and spending, which in turn will create other new jobs. These other new jobs will be primarily in service sectors such as education that are less easy to automate.

Fortunately, for those of us employed in education (8.7 per cent of UK employment), our work is at the least risk of automation of twelve occupational areas considered.

Teaching is apparently difficult to automate! The greatest loss of jobs to automation is predicted for the following occupations: wholesale and retail trade 44 per cent; manufacturing 46 per cent; administrative and support services 37 per cent; transportation and storage 56 per cent; professional, scientific and technical work 26 per cent.

All of this could increasingly polarise income distribution, with a greater proportion going to those with the skills to thrive in an ever more digital economy the result of which would almost certainly retard social mobility.

Beyond the statistics is a clear message.

Parents and schools need to have high aspirations for children. There needs to be an uncompromising approach to children reaching their potential if they are to be best equipped to navigate their way through what looks like being a tough and uncertain future.

Pupils also need to be resilient and expect to experience a number of different careers perhaps during their working lives.

It seems that the future is about achieving optimum efficiency and may have little need for those who have not enjoyed a successful education or who have wasted subsequent opportunities.