Moving into a new year, the World Economic Forum believes us to be at an intersection between AI and workplace transformation.
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), we are at a “critical inflection point”, in that we are witnessing the convergence of multiple de-stabilising forces, such as mass demographic shifts, de-globalisation and AI acceleration.
This convergence has, according to the WEF, exposed the systemic weaknesses that exist within the global labour market, resulting in the need for all of us – organisations, leaders and the workforce alike – to reconsider how we approach skills, work and economic resilience.
Bridging the skills divide
The growing skills gap, particularly in the STEM space, is of major concern – not just to employers, but to professionals hoping to take advantage of new opportunities. AI and other advanced technologies have created an environment in which a stronger technical skillset is required, even for day-to-day operations, leading to a more competitive labour market for all.
WEF made note of the fact that we live and work in a space that is under constant technical transformation. As a consequence, it has become necessary to learn new skills and stay abreast of industry changes not just as they become more mainstream, but in anticipation of their future potential.
As AI redefines what skilled labour means in the modern age, employees and the organisations they work for need to invest heavily in updated and future-focused training that prepares people for changes in the workplace and gives them a foundation for navigating shifts in responsibility.
A previous WEF report exploring the future of jobs between 2025 and 2030 found that many of the fastest-growing careers are in areas that often deal with advanced technologies, requiring significant technical knowledge. The top five alone were aimed at big data specialists, fintech engineers, AI and machine learning specialists, software and applications developers, and security management specialists.
And here is why this is interesting, because many of the roles shown by the WEF to be declining were in areas similar to the jobs on the rise, where there could be a degree of crossover in terms of skillset.
For example, jobs such as data entry clerk and graphic design were indicating to be declining gradually. These are roles in which employees would be expected to have an understanding of workflow tools, productivity tools, company-wide computer systems and in relation to data entry, an understanding of analytics.
While the trends are indicating that AI may indeed alter the working landscape, both in terms of job and skill expectation, as well as even reduce certain roles, now is the time for employees to invest in personal upskilling to stay future-ready. Advancements in AI are not a warning sign that your role is at risk of being reduced, it is an opportunity to upskill should a career pivot be necessary.
Soft skills focus
Crucially however, if employers and professionals are serious about successfully navigating increasingly complicated global working dynamics, there has to be a core focus on building up soft skills. Without an arsenal of human-centric skills, genuine resilience in the face of a complex jobs market is unlikely.
To that point, WEF’s report shows that the top 10 fastest-growing skills from one to three are technical, but rounding out the top five are creative thinking and resiliency, with curiosity, lifelong learning, leadership, analytical thinking and environmental stewardship all making a top 10 appearance.
Having previously spoken with organisational leaders and STEM experts on the importance of soft skills, for example Technovation’s Tara Chklovski, the sentiment is resoundingly the same – genuine workplace resilience starts with a healthy mindset.
Moreover, you can have all of the technical abilities in the world, but if you can’t relay information succinctly, communicate with teams, navigate tough situations, apply logic to problems or brainstorm novel ways to avoid challenges, then that technical prowess can only bring you so far.
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