Industry warned robots will replace 1m UK jobs by 2035

Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, said last month that many of the jobs and industries we are now familiar with "will be gone tomorrow". Photo / AP

A quarter of jobs in Britain's business services sector are at "high risk" of automation within the next two decades.

Accountancy firm Deloitte warned that robots could replace a fifth of jobs in administrative roles such as telecoms and IT by 2035 as falling technology costs and rising wages make automation increasingly attractive.

Deloitte said that around 3.3 million jobs could be classified as business services roles, and that of those, there was a "high chance" that 800,000 to one million jobs would no longer be performed by humans over the period.

Simon Barnes, a Deloitte partner, said that the sector's workforce would "fundamentally change over the next 10 to 20 years". Humans are likely to be liberated from "repetitive and highly structured" roles, while new higher-skilled positions are expected to be created to replace them.

Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, said last month that many of the jobs and industries we are now familiar with "will be gone tomorrow".

The rising speed of technological change threatens to make it difficult to choose a career, and for young people to plan their lives, Carney said.

During a commencement speech at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, Carney said: "It is entirely unrealistic to map out the decades ahead."

He added that "many of the jobs and even the industries of today will be gone tomorrow". As a result, Carney advised graduates to be "flexible and adventurous".

Andy Haldane, the bank's chief economist, has estimated that nearly half of all British jobs could be performed by robots in the years ahead.

He said that a new generation of increasingly creative robots could replace "at risk" jobs over the next 20 years, such as those held by accountants and salespeople.

Barnes said that Deloitte expects "the pace of automation to increase exponentially over the next few decades".

He added that the business services sector would need to consider "the full potential of intelligent automation" if it wants to improve efficiency and quality, and to remain competitive.

Government policies, such as the introduction of the national living wage, are expected to increase wage costs, and force business services companies to place "a renewed focus on productivity and efficiency" as they need to offset rising wage costs.