Futureproof

UK dataswitch to US

Assemblers (electrical and electronic products)

carrying out automated PCB Population to produce populated PCBs, recording production information for electrical and electronic assemblies and labelling and tagging components so that stock inventory. If that's your week, this page is about your job.

The honest answer

AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: carrying out automated PCB Population to produce populated PCBs is work software can't reach.

Your move: what you can actually do about this ↓

What shifts is recording production information for electrical and electronic assemblies: the overhead at the edges, not the middle you trained for.

Your week, as this page understands it

Assemblers (electrical and electronic products) wire prepared parts and/or sub-assemblies in the manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment, make coils and wiring harnesses and assemble previously prepared parts in the batch or mass production of electrical and electronic goods and components The job title says “assemblers (electrical” or “electronic products)”: officially one job, two names. The real job is the part underneath: carrying out automated PCB Population to produce populated PCBs. That is the thing someone has to be right about.

The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But assemblers (electrical and electronic products) is not one task. It is 19 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is carrying out automated PCB Population to produce populated PCBs, and the ledger below shows exactly why.

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI
5%
changing shape
4%
staying human
90%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

Whole-job exposure score 10 out of 100 (815 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 19 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.

How we know this

What is measured: Every published task statement for assemblers (electrical and electronic products) is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-04. Read the full method.

Your job, task by task

These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.

Shifting to AI

1 task

Tasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.

  • Recording production information for electrical and electronic assemblies

    This is reading one thing and writing another: production information in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.

    importance 60 · 8141/00
    Source:Record production information for electrical and electronic assemblies.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 69 out of 100 (6276 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Logging production counts and results is data entry that shop-floor systems already capture automatically.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Changing shape

1 task

Tasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.

  • Reading work orders to determine production specifications and information

    The software now makes the first pass at work orders, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.

    importance 50 · 8141/00
    Source:Read work orders to determine production specifications and information.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 56 out of 100 (4963 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Pulling the specifications out of a work order is straightforward document reading that software handles well.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Staying human

17 tasks

Tasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.

  • Carrying out automated PCB Population to produce populated PCBs

    This work happens in the physical world: automated PCB population, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 80 · 8141/00
    Source:Carry out automated PCB Population to produce populated PCBs.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Loading and running the pick-and-place machine happens on the factory floor with the boards in front of you.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

  • Forming coils according to specifications using tools

    This work happens in the physical world: coils, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 80 · 8141/00
    Source:Form coils according to specifications using tools.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Winding coils with hand tools is manual work on physical materials.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

  • Aligning and fitting system components for assembly

    This work happens in the physical world: system components, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 70 · 8141/00
    Source:Align and fit system components for assembly.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Aligning and fitting parts is manual assembly work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

  • Distributing materials, supplies or subassemblies to work areas

    This work happens in the physical world: materials, supplies or subassemblies, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 70 · 8141/00
    Source:Distribute materials, supplies, or subassemblies to work areas.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Carrying parts to workstations means moving them physically around the factory.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

  • Positioning align and adjusting parts for proper fit and assembly

    This work happens in the physical world: align, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 70 · 8141/00
    Source:Position, align, and adjust parts for proper fit and assembly.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Positioning and aligning parts is fine handwork during assembly.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Removing completed workpieces from equipment or work tables

    This work happens in the physical world: completed workpieces, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 70 · 8141/00
    Source:Remove completed workpieces from equipment or work tables, using hand tools, and place workpieces in containers.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Lifting finished pieces off the bench and boxing them is entirely hands-on.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Labelling and tagging components so that stock inventory

    This work happens in the physical world: components, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 60 · 8141/00
    Source:Label and tag components so that stock inventory can be tracked and identified.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 14 out of 100 (721 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Deciding the code is easy, but the labels have to be physically put on the parts.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Attaching parts or subassemblies together to form completed units

    This work happens in the physical world: parts, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 60 · 8141/00
    Source:Attach parts or subassemblies together to form completed units, using glue, dowels, nails, screws, or clamps.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Fixing parts together with glue, nails and screws is manual assembly work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

Show the other 9 tasks
  • Interpreting assembly blueprints or specifications manuals to understand assembly requirements

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: blueprints, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 50 · 8141/00
    Source:Interpret assembly blueprints or specifications manuals to understand assembly requirements.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 38 out of 100 (3145 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Pulling requirements out of drawings and manuals is document reading AI does well, though it happens alongside the build.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Explaining assembly procedures or techniques to other workers

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: procedures, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 50 · 8141/00
    Source:Explain assembly procedures or techniques to other workers.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 26 out of 100 (1933 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world; the value is that a specific person does it.

    The rating behind it: Clear written instructions can be produced automatically, but showing a colleague the knack usually happens at the bench.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Testing wiring installations, assemblies or circuits for operation and recording results

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: installations, assemblies or circuits, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 50 · 8141/00
    Source:Test wiring installations, assemblies, or circuits for operation and record results.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 10 out of 100 (317 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Recording results is easy to automate, but probing a circuit means connecting test leads to the actual assembly.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Cleaning parts using cleaning solutions

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: parts, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 60 · 8141/00
    Source:Clean parts using cleaning solutions, air hoses, and cloths.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Cleaning parts with cloths and air lines is done by hand at the bench.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Fastening piping, fixtures or wiring and electrical components to form assemblies using hand tools, rivet guns or welding equipment

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: fixtures, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 60 · 8141/00
    Source:Fasten piping, fixtures, or wiring and electrical components to form assemblies using hand tools, rivet guns, or welding equipment.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Riveting and welding components together is physical assembly work with tools in hand.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Transferring materials between work areas using moving equipment

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: materials, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 60 · 8141/00
    Source:Transfer materials between work areas using moving equipment.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Moving materials with trolleys or trucks is physical transport inside the factory.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Bolting positioned components onto machines using measuring instruments and hand tools

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: positioned components, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 50 · 8141/00
    Source:Bolt positioned components onto machines using measuring instruments and hand tools.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Bolting parts into place with hand tools is manual assembly.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Cleaning and lubricating equipment as part of machine maintenance

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 50 · 8141/00
    Source:Clean and lubricate equipment as part of machine maintenance.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Cleaning and lubricating a machine is hands-on work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Packing materials for shipping using hand tools or power tools

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: materials, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 50 · 8141/00
    Source:Pack materials for shipping using hand tools or power tools.” (UK task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Packing materials with hand or power tools is physical work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

What this job pays, and how many people do it

Median pay
£28,600a year, before tax, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.ashe-t14, 2025 · ASHE 2025 provisional (reference April 2025)Provisional, because the ONS revises this figure in the autumn.
How we know this

Source: ashe-t14

Reference period: ASHE 2025 provisional (reference April 2025)

Rounding: Shown to the nearest £100. The exact published figure is in the downloadable dataset. We do not render pounds the survey cannot support.

People doing this job
24,400in the UK, 2026.nomis-aps · Apr 2025-Mar 2026 (latest APS 12-month period)This headcount comes from a survey, not a census, so treat it as a good estimate rather than an exact count.

What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.

Why this is shifting

The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: production information in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: recording production information for electrical and electronic assemblies and reading work orders to determine production specifications and information. What it cannot do is be there in the room, and that is still where automated PCB population gets done. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.

Your move

Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend

Start with what does not change: carrying out automated PCB Population to produce populated PCBs is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.

So, given all that: 5% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 4% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 90% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 19 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.

So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Recording production information for electrical and electronic assemblies is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.

This week: one thing

Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to production information, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.

What you end up holding
a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
How long it takes
ten minutes

If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether automated PCB population is in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no licence needed.

Over the next 90 days

Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near reading work orders to determine production specifications and information. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.

Over the next 12 months

On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, spend an hour with National Careers Service. It is free and government-funded, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.

The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them

I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.

I checked the 12 nearest UK occupations to assemblers (electrical and electronic products) (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was assemblers (vehicles and metal goods): only about 14% of its durable work is work you already do. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 10/100 here, with only 5% of the task list in the top band, and “carry out automated PCB Population to produce populated PCBs” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.

How that was checked: this job was compared against all 412 UK occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.

3 moves I checked and rejected

These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.

  • Assemblers (vehicles and metal goods)

    Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour because one of your tasks is on their list in the same words: “align and fit system components for assembly”. Across the whole of both lists that adds up to about 14% of the work in that job the software is not taking.

    Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 14% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.

    Look at that job’s page anyway →

  • Assemblers and routine operatives n.e.c.

    Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour because one of your tasks is on their list in the same words: “position, align, and adjust parts for proper fit and assembly”. Across the whole of both lists that adds up to about 12% of the work in that job the software is not taking.

    Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 12% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.

    Look at that job’s page anyway →

  • Paper and wood machine operatives

    Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already remove completed workpieces from equipment or work tables, using hand tools, and place…, and their equivalent is to remove finished workpieces from machines. Across both published task lists that is about 5% of the durable work in that job.

    Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 5% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step.

    Look at that job’s page anyway →

What I’d stop worrying about

A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.

  • The headline number you read somewhere

    The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 5% of its task weight, across 19 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.

  • The headlines about your trade disappearing

    They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like carrying out automated PCB Population to produce populated PCBs arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.

  • Retraining out of a job that is holding up

    On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.

  • The “obvious” next job everyone suggests

    I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.

You are reading the United Kingdom figures

The United States splits this work across more than one official group, of which Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.

Switch to the United States page →partial match

In US official statistics this job is counted as Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers, Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers, Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters and Etchers and Engravers. Pay is shown separately for each of those groups (medians cannot be averaged together), while the task list and the scores on this page are for this group only.

Your route through this

Where to go next, and what it costs

Free, and complete

The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.

No Space for this job, but one for what is happening to it

Nothing Collab365 runs is built for assemblers (electrical / electronic products), and we are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.

There is one that is not about a job title at all. The AI Authority is about being the person who directs these tools at work rather than the person they get compared to. That is worth saying here, because 5% of the work on this page is already inside what they can do.

Try The AI Authority free

7 days free, no card needed. Explore up to 2 Spaces before you choose a plan: you pick a plan later, not now.

The AI Authority is a general community about working with AI, not a course for assemblers (electrical / electronic products). You do not need it to act on anything here: the moves above cost nothing and stand on their own. The data on this page is the same either way.

Noted, and thank you. We’ll email you if a Space for assemblers (electrical / electronic products) launches. Nothing else.

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No Space for assemblers (electrical / electronic products) yet. Should there be one?

Collab365 Spaces is built by the same people as this site. We find the problems that AI and automation are creating inside one kind of work, then solve them as short courses, briefings and Blueprints. Each Space is the community too, so the research and the people doing your job are in the same place.

What a Space actually is, in full

Collab365 launches new communities where the need is real. If one for assemblers (electrical / electronic products) existed, with researched problems, courses and people in the same boat, would you want in?

We use your email address for one thing: to tell you if a Space for assemblers (electrical / electronic products) launches. We never sell it, never use it for unrelated marketing, and every email has a one-click unsubscribe. Our privacy policy has the full version.

This unlocks nothing. Every figure, every row and every step on this page is already yours, whether you fill this in or not.

No deadline on any of this. The page will still be here, and the data is refreshed on a published schedule rather than when someone wants a headline.

Questions people ask about this job

Will AI replace Assemblers (electrical and electronic products)?
Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 19 official task statements scored for Assemblers (electrical and electronic products) (United Kingdom, SOC 8141), 5% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 10 out of 100 (range 8–15, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
Which tasks in “Assemblers (electrical and electronic products)” can AI already do?
The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Record production information for electrical and electronic assemblies” (69/100, high); “Read work orders to determine production specifications and information” (56/100, partial); “Interpret assembly blueprints or specifications manuals to understand assembly requirements” (38/100, low). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
Which tasks in “Assemblers (electrical and electronic products)” stay human?
About 90% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Pack materials for shipping using hand tools or power tools” (0/100, minimal); “Clean and lubricate equipment as part of machine maintenance” (0/100, minimal); “Bolt positioned components onto machines using measuring instruments and hand tools” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
What should someone working in “Assemblers (electrical and electronic products)” do about AI?
Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 5% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 90% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
How is the AI exposure score for Assemblers (electrical and electronic products) calculated?
Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 19 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

Where these numbers come from

About the data on this page

  • Provisional, because the ONS revises this figure in the autumn.
  • This headcount comes from a survey, not a census, so treat it as a good estimate rather than an exact count.
  • The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
  • 8 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
  • Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
Task statements
gaisi-indexProcessing: catalogue-bridge → ssc-relatedness-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
Task weights
gaisi-index (relatedness)
Scores
Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-05.
Pay and employment
ashe-t14 (ASHE 2025 provisional (reference April 2025))nomis-aps (Apr 2025-Mar 2026 (latest APS 12-month period))

Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.

The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.

The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.

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Using these figures?

Cite this

Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.

Plain text

Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).

BibTeX

@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
  title        = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
  author       = {{Collab365}},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
  note         = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}

Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published . Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.