About a quarter of jobs expected to change in next five years - World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has revealed that almost a quarter of jobs, or 23 per cent, are expected to change in the next five years via a 10.2 per cent growth in some jobs, and a 12.3 per cent decline in others as a result of technology and digitalisation, according to a publication The Future of Jobs Report 2023.

The report brings together the perspective of 803 companies that collectively employ more than 11.3 million workers in 27 industry clusters and 45 economies from all regions of the world.

The report said that employers anticipate 69 million new jobs will be created and 83 million eliminated among the 673 million jobs corresponding to the dataset, a net decrease of 14 million jobs, or two per cent of current employment.

Macrotrends, including the green transition, environment, social and governance (ESG) standards and localisation of supply chains, are the leading drivers of job growth, with economic challenges including high inflation, slower economic growth and supply shortages posing the greatest threat.

"Advancing technology adoption and increasing digitisation will cause significant labour market churn, with an overall net positive in job creation," said WEF in a statement today.

WEF managing director Saadia Zahidi noted that there is a clear way forward to ensure resilience.

"Governments and businesses must invest in supporting the shift to the jobs of the future through the education, reskilling and social support structures that can ensure individuals are at the heart of the future of work," he said.

According to the report, companies said that skills gaps and an inability to attract talent are the key barriers to transformation, showing a clear need for training and reskilling across industries.

"Six in 10 workers will require training before 2027 but only half of the employees are seen to have access to adequate training opportunities today.

"At the same time, the report estimates that, on average, 44 per cent of an individual worker's skills will need to be updated," it said.

The report highlighted that in response to the cost-of-living crisis, 36 per cent of companies recognise that offering higher wages could help attract talent.

"Four in five surveyed companies plan to invest in learning and training on the job as well as automating processes in the next five years.

"Two thirds of companies expect to see a return on investment on skills training within a year of the investment, whether in the form of enhanced cross-role mobility, increased worker satisfaction or improved worker productivity," said WEF.

- BERNAMA