Electricity and Control January-February 2025

Reskilling, upskilling + training

The future of jobs – new opportunities call for urgent upskilling

In early January, the World Economic Forum (WEF) published its Future of Jobs Report 2025 . The report suggests that job disruption will equate to 22% of jobs by 2030, with 170 million new roles set to be created and 92 million displaced, resulting in a net increase of 78 million jobs. It points to technological advances, geoeconomic fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic shi¡s and the green transition – individually and in combination – as the main drivers expected to reshape industries and professions worldwide and transform the global labour market by 2030. T he F uture of Jobs Report 2025 [1] brings together the perspectives of over 1000 leading global employers, collectively representing more than 14 million workers are expected to see the highest job growth by 2030. Advances in AI and renewable energy are reshaping the market – driving an increase in demand for many technology-focused or specialist roles and driving a decline for others, such as graphic designers.

across 22 industry clusters and 55 economies from around the world, to examine how these macrotrends impact jobs and skills, and the workforce transformation strategies employers plan to embark on in response, across the 2025 to 2030 timeframe. The report finds that the skills gap continues to be the most significant barrier to business transformation today, with nearly 40% of skills required on the job set to change and 63% of employers already citing it as the key barrier they face. Technology skills in AI, big data and cybersecurity are expected to see rapid growth in demand, but human skills, such as creative thinking, resilience, flexibility and agility, will remain critical. A combination of both types of skills will be increasingly crucial in a fast-shi‘ing job market. Frontline roles and essential sectors like care and education

“Trends such as generative AI and rapid technological shi‘s are upending industries and labour markets, creating unprecedented opportunities and profound risks,” said Till Leopold, Head of Work, Wages and Job Creation at the World Economic Forum. “Businesses and governments need to work together, invest in skills and build an equitable and resilient global workforce.” The job market in 2030 Frontline roles, including farmworkers, delivery drivers and construction workers, are expected to see the largest job growth in absolute terms by 2030. Significant increases are also projected for care jobs, such as nursing professionals, and education roles, such as secondary school teachers, with demographic trends driving growth in demand across essential sectors. At the same time, advances in AI, robotics and energy systems – notably in renewable energy and environmental engineering – are expected to increase demand for specialist roles in these fields. Roles such as cashiers and administrative assistants remain among the fastest declining but other roles are also a€ected as generative AI rapidly reshapes the labour market. The skills gap The report indicates that the skills gap continues to be the most significant obstacle to business transformation in response to global macrotrends, cited by 63% of employers as a main barrier to future-proofing their operations. If the global workforce were represented by a group of 100 people, 59 are projected to require reskilling or upskilling by 2030 and, among them, 11 are unlikely to receive it; this translates to over 120 million workers at risk of redundancy in the medium term. While technology skills in AI, big data, networks and cybersecurity are expected to see the fastest growth in demand, human skills such as analytical thinking, cognitive skills, resilience, leadership and collaboration will remain critical core skills. A combination of both skillsets will increasingly be required by many growing jobs. AI and upskilling AI is reshaping business models, with half of employers

Jobs expected to see the biggest growth and decline by 2030

30 Electricity + Control JAN-FEB 2025