Relationship skills protect against a 'robot revolution'

The impact of this on the lives of individuals and welfare of families could be profound, particularly in deprived areas where alternative employment opportunities may be harder to find. Experience from the early 1980s shows that when an area's employment conditions quickly deteriorate, it can blight whole communities for decades, resulting in social and economic decay.

While the "robot revolution" is an economic fact of life, machines cannot be programmed to build the strong relationships that underpin the caring professions. The relationships forged between those providing and receiving care can be instrumental in determining good outcomes.

The importance of relationships has been brought into sharp focus in recent years in children's social work (see Special Report). Professor Eileen Munro's 2011 review of child protection prompted a reassessment of what was wanted from social workers. The profession had become bogged down with bureaucracy and distant from those they were trying to help - time spent on face-to-face contact with children and families was being increasingly consumed by the burden of record keeping and form filling.

Since then, there has been a fundamental change in mindset. The "tick box" approach that dominated practice has been widely replaced with new models of working that prioritise the building of relationships with vulnerable families so that better decisions can be made about how to best meet their needs. Some councils, like Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, have brought in expert administrators to free up social workers to spend more time with families. Others, such as Leeds, have introduced restorative approaches where practitioners work alongside families to find agreed solutions.

Working with vulnerable people is challenging, but developing trusting relationships is more rewarding for practitioners and delivers better outcomes for clients. This could be why the number of children's social workers has risen in recent years. However, 4,000 posts are still unfilled across local authorities in England.

The IPPR says billions of pounds must be pumped into offering those affected by automation help to retrain. With the demand for care of both children and adults set to rise significantly in the future, more people may consider a career in caring.

Derren Hayes is editor of Children & Young People Now derren.hayes@markallengroup.com