Whether we like it or not, the job market is influenced by new technology and organisations need to respond to attract and retain the talent they need for success.
In 2018, an average of 71% of total task hours across 12 industries covered in The Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum was performed by humans, compared to 29% by machines. By 2022 this average is expected to have shifted to 58% task hours performed by humans and 42% by machines.
In real terms, this means nearly half of companies expect to experience some reduction in their full-time workforce, by 2022. However, 38% of businesses expect to extend their workforce to new productivity-enhancing roles, while more than 25% expect automation to lead to the creation of employment.
To cope with this rapidly changing landscape, between one-half and two-thirds of businesses expect to expand their workforce to include contractors, temporary staff, and freelancers who will perform specialised work.
They also intend to engage workers on a more flexible basis and to embrace off-site working arrangements.
While this solution may fill skill-gaps, it raises other questions including how organisations can best manage a more fluid workforce of contractors and project teams, while simultaneously continuing to instil the values, culture and purpose to their workforce.
Jobs of the future
Two concurrent trends which are driving business growth are the continued rise of tech jobs and skills; and ‘human-centric’ jobs and skills — those that depend on intrinsic human qualities.
These trends mean that over the next five years, there will be an increasing demand for:
- Data analysts and scientists
- Software and applications developers
- Ecommerce and social media experts
We can also expect to see new specialist roles, such as:
- AI and machine learning specialists
- Big data specialists
- Process automation experts
- Information security analysts
- User experience and human-machine interaction designers
- Robotics engineers
- Blockchain specialists.
Roles leveraging those distinctive ‘human’ skills will include:
- Customer services workers
- Sales and marketing professionals
- Training and development experts
- Organisational development specialists
- Innovation managers.
Jobs expected to become increasingly redundant over the 2018–2022 period are routine-based, middle-skilled white-collar roles which are susceptible to advances in new technologies and process automation. These include:
- Data entry clerks
- Accounting and payroll clerks
- Secretaries
- Auditors
- Bank tellers
- Cashiers.
From what I am seeing in trends, even in the organisations, I work with, you can add middle management to this list, particularly in large businesses who have worked under a structure of layers of management.
By far, providing high-end personalised coaching seems to be the most effective response for organisations to attract, retain and keep talent at the top of their game for success.
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