Jobcentre chiefs will be ordered to help people switch careers to survive in the age of robots, Amber Rudd declares today.
She will vow to hand Work Coaches training to help those in work - not just the unemployed, sick or disabled.
The Work and Pensions Secretary will say automation is “driving the decline of banal and repetitive tasks”, prompting a switch to new, more creative work.
Sources claim the Cabinet minister wants to hire more staff and pour more resources into the scheme.
But there are only scant details at the moment, with no firm funding, staff numbers or pilot scheme confirmed.
And the announcement is part of a wide-ranging speech on the world of work that is likely to be interpreted as a naked pitch for the Tory leadership.
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Speaking in London, Ms Rudd will say the Tories must seize the chance to become the party of the 21st century worker.
“As Conservatives we want every person, no matter their background, to progress in the workplace and outperform what society says they should be able to do," she will say.
As pressure mounts on Theresa May to quit, she will add: “We know that switching jobs is often the best way to open up new opportunities and progress in the workplace."
Remainer Ms Rudd has previously been tipped to run on a joint ticket with Brexiteer Boris Johnson.
The former City investments director will claim Labour wants to "hark back to the dark Satanic mills of the past."
Burnishing her woman-of-the-people credentials, she will add: "I remember when my trading team at JP Morgan acquired a single - comically large - mobile phone, which one of us took home each night in order to contact Japanese markets at 2am.
"Now, thanks to globalisation, digital technology, automation and connectivity, the world is being transformed.
“And there are huge opportunities for all of us: new and flexible ways of working, better services, and more inclusivity."
