WHY UPSKILLING & RESKILLING IS MORE IMPORTANT NOW THAN EVER?
The World Economic Forum report “The Future of Jobs 2020” predicts that by 2025, automation and a new division of labour between humans and machines will disrupt 85 million jobs globally in medium and large businesses across 15 industries and 26 economies.
Roles in areas such as data entry, accounting, and administrative support are decreasing in demand as automation and digitization in the workplace increase.
More than 80% of business executives are accelerating plans to digitize work processes and deploy new technologies, and 50% of employers are expecting to accelerate the automation of some roles in their companies. In contrast to previous years, job creation is now slowing while job destruction is accelerating.
Some 43% of businesses surveyed indicate that they are set to reduce their workforce due to technology integration, 41% plan to expand their use of contractors for task-specialized work, and 34% plan to expand their workforce due to technology integration.
HR leaders are finding it increasingly difficult to quickly find and develop talent with the most in-demand skills, yet 58% of the workforce needs new skills to get their jobs done, according to Gartner, Inc.
We are caught amidst unprecedented change and uncertainty propelled by rapid advancements in technology, automation, digitization, economic upheaval, pandemic, and geopolitical tensions.
The choices that we make today will define where and how we will be in the future. The key is upskilling and reskilling. Continuous education, training, and skill development are the keys to surviving and thriving in the digital economy.
For the uninitiated, upskilling is about improving our existing skills or learning additional skills to perform our job better or advance in our current position whereas reskilling is learning new skills to perform a different job.
Not doing it is no longer an option unless somebody wants to become history and irrelevant.
The workforce is automating faster than expected, displacing 85 million jobs in the next five years
The robot revolution will create 97 million new jobs, but communities most at risk from disruption will need support from businesses and governments
In 2025, analytical thinking, creativity, and flexibility are among the top skills needed; with data and artificial intelligence, content creation, and cloud computing the top emerging professions
The most competitive businesses will be those that choose to reskill and upskill current employees
According to the World Economic Forum, as the economy and job markets evolve, 97 million new roles will emerge across the care economy, in the fourth industrial revolution technology industries like artificial intelligence, and in content creation fields. The tasks where humans are set to retain their comparative advantage include managing, advising, decision-making, reasoning, communicating, and interacting. There will be a surge in demand for workers who can fill green economy jobs, roles at the forefront of the data and artificial intelligence economy, as well as new roles in engineering, cloud computing, and product development.
Employers need to be proactive in their approach to building an agile and resilient workforce of the future by investing in human capital. On the other hand, employees or workers need to be cognizant of the changes in the job market and prepare themselves to stay ahead of the curve else they run the risk of jeopardizing their professional and personal lives.
It’s time we get our act together and focus on building our skills and abilities to realize our fullest potential. Thinking of upskilling or reskilling?
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