The world is changing. What does that mean for jobs and the skills you need?
It won’t have escaped your attention that the world moves and changes over time.
Sure, the younger you are, the less you notice change, but no one over the age of about twelve can have failed to notice the impact that the COVID pandemic has on all our lives. Nor can you have missed the rise of AI technology, apps and digital personalisation changing the way we learn and take on new challenges. And the existential threat of climate change will be obvious to everyone but the most closed-minded.
Each of these things has an impact on our lives, and of course our future careers.
And every couple of years, the World Economic Forum publishes their Future of Jobs report, which looks at the impact of these world-wide issues on jobs and the skills needed. The latest version came out in May this year. It’s quite a piece of work, the fourth of its type in a decade, and based on a large-scale, world-wide survey of employers.
It is an absolute gold-mine of information, data and insight into the future of careers, and as you make important decisions about your future studies and career, you are going to want to know about it!
However, it’s 300 pages long, so you’ll be delighted to know that I’ve read it, so you don’t have to.
So, what is the jobs outlook worldwide?
The report found that employers expect what they call a structural labour market churn of 23% over the next five years. What they mean by this is that nearly one quarter of jobs that exist today will not exist in five years. Scary stuff.
But almost all of these will be replaced by new jobs. These new jobs will need to be done by someone, and while many of these will go to people already in work who undergo retraining, many of them will go to people who are new to the workforce. Which is you in a few years time!
This ‘churn’ will be driven by technology, digitisation, sustainability and the slow economic growth resulting from the pandemic. So jobs on the rise are going to be in these exact areas. AI and Machine Learning Specialists top the list of fast-growing jobs, followed by Sustainability Specialists, Business Intelligence Analysts and Information Security Analysts. Renewable Energy Engineers, and Solar Energy Installation and System Engineers are also relatively fast-growing roles, as economies shift towards renewable energy.
The corresponding falls are likely to come in areas where people are effectively being replaced by technology, so clerical or secretarial roles, with Bank Tellers and Related Clerks, Postal Service Clerks, Cashiers and Ticket Clerks, and Data Entry Clerks are expected to decline fastest.
In addition, they expect large scale job growth in education, agriculture and digital commerce and trade. Jobs in the Education industry are expected to grow by about 10%. Jobs for agricultural professionals are expected to see an increase of around 30% (that’s around 3 million jobs!). Growth is forecast in many digitally- enabled roles, such as E-Commerce Specialists, Digital Transformation Specialists, and Digital Marketing and Strategy Specialists.
The bad news is that they expect a net reduction in jobs of around 2%. This is pretty scary for people already in the workplace, many of whom will have to re-skill.
You, on the other hand, are perfectly placed to use your time at university to gain the skills that employers really need.
And what skills will you need?
One of the main drivers of the report was to find out where employers thought there were skills gaps. i.e. what they would like their future employees to be better at. The point is to provide information to universities and other education providers to tell them what to include in their courses. And of course to give you the ability to develop your skills accordingly!
Interestingly almost all of the skills shortages they identified were skills that we would think of as transferable skills; skills that you can gain from the study of almost any discipline.
The top ‘in demand’ skills
Analytical thinking
Capacity to break down concepts and complex ideas into basic or fundamental principles. Includes critical thinking, whereby judgements are made by analysing and interpreting facts and information.
Creative thinking
Capacity to bring a new idea or concept into existence through imagination and to imagine something that does not exist.
Resilience, flexibility and agility
Maturity, poise, flexibility, and restraint to cope with pressure, stress, criticism, setbacks, and personal and work-related problems.
Motivation and self-awareness
Seeing one's own values, passions, aspirations, fit with environment, reactions (including thoughts, feelings, behaviours, strengths, and weaknesses), and impact on others, as well as understanding how one is perceived by others, in terms of those same factors.
Curiosity and lifelong learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Technology literacy
Capacity to select the right tools needed to perform tasks, use those tools and set up and operate technology.
Dependability and attention to detail
Dependability, commitment to doing the job punctually, correctly and carefully, and paying attention to details.
Empathy and active listening
Paying attention to what others say and understanding points being made, establishing rapport, adjusting the register, and respecting the intervention of others.
Leadership and social influence
Having an impact on others in the organisation, and displaying energy and leadership. Leadership is defined as a quality that can be possessed by anyone, regardless of their particular function within an organisation.
Note that the descriptions of each skill come from the World Economic Forum’s Global Skills Taxonomy.
How does this help you choose a degree course to study?
If you’ve been paying attention as you read, you’ll have gathered that the world of work is changing. Fast. The jobs of today won’t be the jobs of tomorrow, and that’s a slightly scary thing as you are choosing what to study. The world, after all, will have changed again by the time you finish.
If you are clear that you want to go into engineering, technology, health, education, agriculture, the environment, and even in business, you can be pretty secure in your choices. Yes, there will be changes in the specific roles and the skills required, but these careers are not going anywhere.
However, if you really don’t know what to study, perhaps this report should also give you some reassurance. Why? Because whatever you study, you’ll have the opportunity to learn and gain almost all of the key skills that employers are looking for.
Most employers are not looking for specific knowledge, they are looking for future leaders, teamworkers, analysts, and innovators; analytical and creative people; people with resilience and flexibility; people who are motivated, self-aware and are hungry to learn throughout their lives; people who are technically literate, knowing and using the best tech to get the job done; people who are dependable and have empathy for others; and leaders.
You are in a perfect position to start building all of these skills, and the great thing is that you can do it while studying any subject, in particular, a subject that you enjoy. If what you enjoy involves technology, programming or data then so much the better! But either way, your challenge is to take ownership of your own learning and choose a course of study that will help you build on your strengths and learn new skills.
What next?
Not sure what you can see yourself doing as a career? Why not have a look at a couple of other articles I’ve written about finding your perfect career?
