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Let the AI-led workforce transformation commence.
The latest installment of the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report shows that major trends such as broadening digital access and advancements in AI technologies “are expected to have a divergent effect on jobs.” In other words: Companies plan to replace some workers with AI, but hire others with in-demand skill sets.
Roughly two-fifths (41%) of the 1,000-plus companies WEF surveyed globally said they plan to “downsize their workforce” by 2030 due to AI. Yet, 69% said they expect to recruit workers skilled in designing and enhancing AI tools, and almost half (47%) said they’ll “transition employees from AI-disrupted roles to other positions.”
The positions expected to be in highest demand generally involve technology or energy transition. They include big data specialists, AI and machine learning specialists, environmental engineers, and autonomous or electric vehicle specialists, according to the report.
Roles expected to shrink the most in the near future include clerical workers such as cashiers and ticket clerks, administrative assistants, bank tellers, and data-entry clerks. Generative AI’s influence is also starting to show up on this list. Graphic designers and legal secretaries fell just outside the top 10 fastest declining roles, which “may illustrate GenAI’s increasing capacity to perform knowledge work,” WEF noted in the report.
Analytical thinking again came out on top as the most valued core skill among employers, followed by resilience, flexibility and agility, and leadership and social influence.
The WEF also noted that out of every 100 workers, 59 will need training to learn new in-demand skills by 2030. Employers said that 29 of that group of 59 “could be upskilled in their current roles” and 19 could be moved to a different department. But 11 may be at risk of losing their jobs.