What Will the Future of Jobs Be Like?
COVID-19 is one of the biggest crises of our time. It has impacted every single one of us, shaken our social systems and disrupted every sector of our economies. The automation of work combined with the global recession led workers to lose their jobs at an accelerated pace compared to previous years, and this trend is expected to continue.
The ongoing shift in the division of labor between humans, machines, and algorithms might displace 85 million jobs worldwide in the next 5 years, while 97 million new ones – ones that are more adapted to this new task’s distribution – may emerge.
By 2025, companies expect to displace roughly 6% of their total workforce, 1 in 2 workers will need reskilling, and those remaining in their current roles will need to update 40% of their skill set to adapt to the changing labor market.
There is a way to collectively benefit from these challenging times. Decades of research have shown that the most valuable asset of any economy or company is its human capital.
Around the globe, companies are already experiencing a shortage in relevant skills for future roles and are investing in reskilling and upskilling their workforce.
By 2025, organizations say they will train over 70% of their employees to ensure they can smoothly transition into the jobs of tomorrow…These include: DevOps Engineers, Artificial Intelligence Specialists, Digital Marketing Managers, Talent Acquisition Specialists and Customer Success Specialists.
It will take on average between 2 weeks and 5 months for workers to pick up new skills, allowing them to move into these new roles. But data shows they won’t need to have the perfect skill set to start transitioning. While two third of employers expect to get a return on investment in employees reskilling programs within just one year, government will also need to step in to update and fund education and training systems, and to ensure displaced workers have adequate safety nets.
With purposeful leadership and collaboration, we can turn this global crisis into a unique opportunity to transition into a future of jobs that is inclusive, fair and sustainable.
