WEF: 85 Million Jobs Will Become Irrelevant In The Next 5 Years

If there’s one thing this pandemic has taught us, it’s that companies need to adapt and improvise to the ever-changing job market if they still want to be relevant in the future.

Recently, the World Economic Forum (WEF) published the Future of Jobs Report 2020 and some shocking statistics were revealed. In the next five years, automation and a new division of labour between machines and humans will disrupt 85 million jobs around the world.

85 Million Jobs Disrupted By 2025

Working remotely is here to stay for the foreseeable future and workers will be expected to change careers and pick up new skills consistently to adapt to new labour trends. In fact, 94% of business leaders report that they expect employees to pick up new skills on the job.

WEF’s managing director, Saadia Zahidi, said “Covid-19 has accelerated the arrival of the future of work. It’s a double disruption scenario that presents another hurdle for workers in this difficult time. The window of opportunity for proactive management of this change is closing fast,” she said, emphasising that there is an urgency to prepare for this global transition in the workforce.

Among jobs that will face a decreasing demand in the next five years are:

• Data Entry Clerks
• Administrative and Executive Secretaries
• Accounting, Bookkeeping and Payroll Clerks
• Accountants and Auditors
• Assembly and Factory Workers
• Business Services and Administration Managers
• Client Information and Customer Service workers
• General and Operations Managers
• Mechanics and Machinery Repairs
• Material-Recording and Stock-Keeping Clerks
• Financial Analysts
• Postal Service Clerks
• Sales Rep, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Tech and Science Products
• Relationship Managers
• Bank Tellers and Related Clerks
• Door-to-Door Sales, News and Street Vendors
• Electronic and Telecom Installers and Repairmen
• Human Resources Specialists
• Training & Development Specialists
• Construction Laborers

97 Million Jobs Will Emerge

However, it’s not all bad news for the future job market. The report also states that an estimate of 97 million jobs may emerge from these new labour trends. Approximately 40% of workers in the labour force will be able to re-skill in six months or less. The job market will grow but for increasing demand trends of selected industries like:

• Data Analysts and Scientists
• AI and Machine Learning Specialists
• Big Data Specialists
• Digital Marketing and Strategy Specialists
• Process Automation Specialists
• Business Development Professionals
• Digital Transformation Specialists
• Information Security Analysts
• Software and Application Developers
• Internet of Things Specialists
• Project Managers
• Business Services and Administration Managers
• Database and Network Professionals
• Robotics Engineers
• Strategic Advisors
• Management and Organisation Analysts
• FinTech Engineers
• Mechanics and Machinery Repairers
• Organisational Development Specialists
• Risk Management Specialists

Unsurprisingly, these shifts are not expected to benefit everyone equally. The demographic most affected by this acceleration of technology and the pandemic-induced job crisis are low-income workers, women, low-skilled workers and young people.

While 43% of businesses analysed in the WEF report said that they are set to reduce their workforce due to technology integration, only one in five companies worldwide possesses the public funds that will allow for the re-skilling of workers. Results of the report reveal an immediate call on global governments to provide affected workers with access to social safety, improved education systems and incentives for businesses to invest in jobs of the future.

For the full report from WEF, click here.

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