Inside the Headlines
Impact of Agentic AI to the Employability of People
The rise of agentic AI and the shift toward Industry 5.0 will reshape employability rather than eliminate it wholesale. Routine, repetitive tasks—whether white- or blue-collar—will continue to decline in value, but human capabilities will become more important, not less. Employability will increasingly depend on a person’s ability to work with intelligent systems, exercise judgment, adapt to change, and contribute meaningfully to problem-solving and service delivery. This transition creates risk for those without access to reskilling, but it also opens opportunities for billions to move into roles that emphasize coordination, interpretation, care, creativity, and contextual decision-making—roles where humans remain indispensable. The challenge is not a lack of work, but a mismatch between old skills and new expectations.
What It Means for Blue-Collar Jobs
Contrary to popular fear, Industry 5.0 does not aim to eliminate blue-collar work—it aims to humanize and upgrade it. In factories, logistics, construction, agriculture, and utilities, agentic AI and robotics will increasingly handle dangerous, exhausting, and ultra-precise tasks. Blue-collar workers, in turn, shift toward roles such as machine supervisors, quality controllers, maintenance specialists, safety stewards, and process optimizers. Physical labor does not disappear; it becomes safer, more skilled, and better supported by technology. Wages and job quality can improve if workers are reskilled and included in the transition—but decline if they are treated as replaceable rather than upgradable.
The Defining Question of the Era
The real impact on employability is not technological—it is institutional and political. If governments, companies, and educators invest in lifelong learning, credential portability, and inclusive workforce planning, Industry 5.0 can expand dignified work at scale. If they do not, agentic AI may concentrate opportunity among a few while marginalizing many. Blue-collar workers will be at the frontline of this choice. In short, agentic AI and Industry 5.0 will not decide the fate of billions—human leadership, policy, and values will.
