A new global report shows that job openings currently favour those with information technology skills as more employers expect broadening digital access to transform their business than any other trend.
Big data specialists; fintech engineers and software developers are attracting employers compared to jobs like postal service clerks, bank tellers, data entry, cashiers, administrative assistants, accounting and bookkeeping which are declining.
This perhaps explains why most students in Kenya are gravitating towards IT-related courses, with the government pumping more resources into the sector via Digital Superhighway and Creative economy.
The latest Global Labour Market Place report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) shows that there are growing job opportunities for individuals with tech-related skills like big data specialists, fintech engineers, and software developers.
Frontline job roles are predicted to see the largest growth in absolute terms of volume and include farmworkers, delivery drivers, construction workers, salespersons, and food processing workers.
Care economy jobs, such as nursing professionals, social work and counselling professionals, and personal care aides are also expected to grow significantly over the next five years, alongside education roles such as tertiary and secondary education teachers.
However, according to the report, jobs like postal service clerks, bank tellers, data entry, cashiers, administrative assistants, accounting and bookkeeping are declining.
“Technological developments, green transition, macroeconomic and geo-economics shifts, and demographic changes are driving transformation in the global labour market, reshaping both jobs and required skills,’’ the report reads.
The Future of Jobs report that surveyed 1,000 leading global employers—collectively representing more than 14 million workers across 22 industry clusters and 55 economies from around the world shows that broadening digital access is expected to be the most transformative trend – both across technology-related trends and overall – with 60 per cent of employers expecting it to transform their business by 2030.
Advancements in technologies, particularly AI and information processing ( 86 per cent); robotics and automation ( 58 pe rcent); and energy generation, storage and distribution ( 41 per cent), are also expected to be transformative.
“These trends are expected to have a divergent effect on jobs, driving both the fastest-growing and fastest-declining roles, and fueling demand for technology-related skills, including AI and big data, networks and cyber security and technological literacy, which are anticipated to be the top three fastest-growing skills.”
Climate change mitigation is the third-most transformative trend overall – and the top trend related to the green transition – while climate change adaptation ranks sixth with 47 per cent and 41 per cent of employers, respectively, expecting these trends to transform their business in the next five years.
This is driving demand for roles such as renewable energy engineers, environmental engineers and electric and autonomous vehicle specialists, all among the 15 fastest-growing jobs.
Climate trends are also expected to drive an increased focus on environmental stewardship, which has entered the Future of Jobs Report’s list of top 10 fastest-growing skills for the first time.
Two demographic shifts are increasingly seen to be transforming global economies and labour markets: aging and declining working-age populations, predominantly in higher-income economies, and expanding working-age populations, predominantly in lower-income economies.
According to the report, these
trends drive an increase in demand
for skills in talent management,
teaching and mentoring, and motivation and self-awareness.
