FUTURE OF JOBS

World Economic Forum | Unlocking Opportunity: A Global Framework for Enabling Transitions to the Jobs of Tomorrow | The World Economic Forum's report Unlocking Opportunity: Job Transitions in 2024 explores the critical need for reskilling and upskilling as industries evolve. It highlights how job transitions are crucial to unlocking economic opportunities, providing actionable insights for businesses and policymakers to foster a more resilient, adaptable global workforce.

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Introduction

Global labour markets undergo rapid transformations due to automation, digitalisation, and shifting economic conditions. By 2027, 23% of current jobs will change, with 69 million new roles created and 83 million displaced globally. This necessitates strategic job transitions to maintain employment, foster economic productivity, and ensure workforce resilience.

Key Insights

• Reskilling and Upskilling are Critical: The need for reskilling is urgent. This is essential to facilitate job transitions, especially into growing fields like digital, ICT, and healthcare roles. For example, AI and machine learning specialists and sustainability specialists are among the fastest-growing jobs, while roles such as cashiers and postal workers are declining.

• Regional Job Transition Trends: The analysis, based on data from 14 economies, identifies common trends based on data from 14 economies across seven regions that are seeing significant transitions globally, along with healthcare and business services positions. In India, transitions from manufacturing technicians to software developers are prominent, while in Brazil, there’s growth in transitions into sales and administrative roles, reflecting regional labour market shifts.

• Multi-stakeholder Collaboration and Worker Safety Nets: Effective job transitions require collaboration between governments, businesses, and educators. Public-private partnerships and social safety nets, like unemployment insurance and portable benefits, support workers’ economic changes.

Recommendations

• Implement Continuous Learning Initiatives: Organisations should foster a culture of lifelong learning and adaptability. This could involve regular upskilling programs and partnerships with educational institutions. Governments can support these efforts with incentives like tax credits or grants linked to workforce development programs.

• Promote Flexible Employment Models: Encourage flexibility in work arrangements such as remote work or temporary contracts, which can help broaden talent pools and accommodate diverse workforce needs. By 2030, an estimated 92 million jobs could be fully remote, offering new opportunities for job transitions.

• Develop Regional Job Transition Frameworks: Tailor job transition programs to specific regional needs. For example, in regions like East Asia, where healthcare roles are growing due to ageing populations, reskilling programs should target transitioning workers from adjacent sectors, such as patient transportation, into nursing roles.

• Strengthen Worker Safety Nets: Governments and businesses must collaborate to enhance social protection for workers during transitions. This includes unemployment benefits, severance support, and access to health insurance, ensuring that displaced workers can maintain a stable standard of living while reskilling.

Conclusion

By embracing strategic job transitions, economies can align labour supply with the demand for high-growth roles, reduce unemployment, and foster economic inclusion. Implementing proactive policies for reskilling, flexible employment, and multistakeholder collaboration will create resilient and adaptable workforces.

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