5 big changes that will revolutionize employment in the coming years (and how they can affect you) | The State
There are two great forces that are revolutionizing the world of work: automation and the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is what is known as the “Double alteration” of jobs, a concept that includes transformations in the short term due to the global economic crisis and those deeper that will be projected over time, according to research done by the International Economic Forum (WEF, for its acronym in English).
The study projects that by 2025 more jobs will be created than will disappear.
Unlike catastrophic theories that anticipate a world dominated by machines where human beings will be completely displaced, the WEF findings point to the opportunities that open up for those who have the option to study and adapt to new demands.
“This has happened in each of the industrial revolutions,” says Vesselina Stefanova Ratcheva, a researcher at the WEF Center for the New Economy and Society, in dialogue with BBC Mundo from Geneva.
“There are many opportunities that will be created by emerging jobs, but investments are required so that workers can train and move to new jobs, “he says.
Investments that should be made by companies and governments, he adds, to develop a more qualified workforce.
These are five keys to the future of jobs, according to the vision of the WEF.
1. Workforce automation is growing at an unprecedented rate
As the workforce is automating faster than experts expected, the organization projects that they will disappear 85 million jobs in the next five years.
The adoption of new technologies by companies will transform the tasks, jobs and skills that companies will need by 2025.
A surprising fact from the study: Five years from now, employers will split work between humans and machines roughly equally.
2. The technological revolution will create 97 million new jobs by 2025
Just as jobs will disappear, so will new opportunities. The acceleration of technological change will create 97 million jobs.
“Every time we see the data on new jobs it is quite surprising,” says Vesselina Stefanova.
Emerging professions span a wide range of sectors such as the green economy, data analytics, or artificial intelligence.
Statistics analyzed by the organization also show a growing increase in jobs in engineering, cloud computing and product development.
Sectors such as the people care economy, marketing, sales, content creation (such as social media management), software and application development, as well as tasks focused on digital transformation will also continue to expand.
Recently there has been an appetite on the part of employers to hire process automation specialists, information security analysts and specialists in the Internet of Things.
10 jobs on the rise:
- Analysts and data scientists
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists
- Specialists in handling large volumes of data
- Marketing specialists and digital strategies
- Automation process specialists
- Professionals dedicated to business development
- Digital transformation specialists
- Digital security analysts
- Software and application developers
- Internet of things specialists
3. The three most required skills in the world of work in 2025
Analytical thinking, creativity and flexibility will be among the most sought after skills in 2025.
Added to them is the ability to think critically and to solve problems, characteristics that cross different professional profiles and that will become increasingly important in the future.
Research indicates that the need for skills such as self-management, active learning, resilience and stress tolerance has also been detected.
The data available through the conjugation of metrics with the signature LinkedIn and Coursera, allowed the WEF to delve deeper into the types of specialized skills that the job market will require.
4. The most competitive companies will improve the skills of their employees
Those companies that stand out for being more competitive will focus on improving the skills of their workers.
Projections suggest that nearly half of workers will need retraining to update their skills in the coming years.
The call “Lifelong learning” It is a concept that is expanding rapidly in the industries, in such a way that constant training will be a fundamental piece of the productive gear.
However, this task will not only be in the hands of the private sector, since governments will have to support those groups of workers who will be displaced by the gigantic changes in the labor market.
Currently, according to the research, only 21% of companies globally indicate that they can use public funds to support their employees through job retraining initiatives.
5. Remote work is here to stay
The COVID-19 pandemic installed more flexible ways of working. One of them, remote work, which is here to stay in some companies, says the study.
Around the 84% of employers surveyed by the WEF, said it was prepared to rapidly digitize work processes, including a significant expansion of teleworking.
However, 78% of business leaders foresee some negative impact on the productivity from the workers.
These changes will impact the vast majority of the workforce that can perform their duties by connecting through the internet.
However, many workers, especially in less developed countries, will remain completely outside the new paradigm of telework.
This is why the WEF analysis warns that inequality is likely to be exacerbated due to the dual impact of the technological revolution and the pandemic recession brought on by the pandemic, which is hitting low-income people, women and youth the hardest
Now you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download the new version of our app and activate them so you don’t miss out on our best content.
.
