Hyderabad:The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted job markets globally during 2020. Millions of people lost their jobs, and others adjusted to working from home as offices closed.
Jobs with the highest physical contact are likely to be most affected. About 25 per cent of the current global workforce now, may need to switch over occupations, than ever before the pandemic.
This situation leads to the adoption of new technologies, that gives rise to the demand for new jobs, careers and roles related to automation, digital technology, data security and Artificial intelligence.
The future of work requires a wide variety of skills that match with current challenges, including disruptive technical skills, specialised industry skills and core business skills.
As the entire world went into lockdown, the way we worked, learned, shopped, socialised, and entertained may be continued in future as well. The pandemic has brought new trends like work from home, e-commerce, virtual meetings, online education and automation, across the globe. Many companies are planning a new combination of ‘remote’ and ‘on-site’ working, a hybrid virtual model in which some employees are on premises, while others work from home.
The new model brings greater access to talent, increase in productivity, engaging small teams, lower down costs, and giving more flexibility.
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As an example, now scientists across the world, wanted virtual meetings to be continued, even after the COVID pandemic, as per the “Nature” magazine’s new survey.
As per a recent McKinsey report on “the future of work after COVID-19”, across the eight focused countries, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the US, more than 100 million workers, or 1 in 16, will need to find a different occupation by 2030.
Together, these eight countries account for almost half the global population and 62 per cent of global GDP.
COVID-19 pandemic will force 1.8 crore Indians to find a new occupation by 2030, says McKinsey report.
Many companies are planning to shift to flexible “workspaces” after positive experiences with “work from home” during the pandemic.
A survey of 278 executives by McKinsey in August 2020 found that organisations planned to reduce office space by 30 per cent. Therefore, demand for restaurants and for public transportation may decline as a result.
McKinsey’s travel practice estimates that about 20 per cent of business travel, the most lucrative segment for airlines, may not return.
This affects employment in aerospace, airports, hospitality, and food services. Other kinds of virtual transactions such as telemedicine, online banking, and streaming entertainment are increasing.
As an example, Online doctor consultations through Practo, a telehealth company in India, grew more than tenfold between April and November 2020. By 2025, millions of new roles may emerge, related to a new division of labour among humans, machines and algorithms.
Job roles already growing in demand are data analysts, data scientists, AI and machine learning specialists and robotics engineers.
According to the “World Economic Forum” on the Future of Jobs Report 2020, it is estimated that, by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced by a shift in the division of labour between humans and machines.
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The report also shows the continuing importance of human roles, in marketing, sales and production. New jobs, roles and careers As per CIO magazine, new jobs like a security professional, cloud architect, database administrator, programmer analyst, Systems analyst, mobile applications developer, network administrator, software developer, are showing demand quickly.
A Gartner survey of 800-plus HR leaders reveals that 32% of organizations are replacing full-time employees with contingent workers as a cost-saving measure.
A recent Gartner poll showed that 48% of employees will likely work remotely, at least part of the time, after COVID-19, versus 30% before the pandemic.
A new report by “MIT Technology Review”, found that “between 32 and 50 million jobs globally can be assisted by AI technology to reduce health risks that are posted by human interaction in business”.
A McKinsey survey of global executives in 2020, revealed that companies are investing in digital technologies at a rapid speed due to the pandemic, which enables them to meet more customers online, increase business, and reduce physical interaction.
A new trend like “digital workers”, (AI-enabled software programs) will be “hired” in greater numbers to assist humans (and sometimes replace them) for certain administrative tasks, and for “virus-friendly” customer-service interactions.
Digital transformation initiatives are also driving the need for new roles. As per, most LinkedIn job posts (February 2021), the jobs with the most demand overall are, software engineer, Registered nurse, Salesperson, Project manager, Food delivery driver, Full-stack engineer, Animal groomer, Javascript developer, DevOps engineer.
And jobs with the fastest-growing demand in LinkedIn job posts (January 2021 to February 2021) are Animal groomer, Pharmacy technician, Retail salesperson, Warehouse associate, Security engineer, User interface designer, Data architect, Software engineering manager, Service associate etc.
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As per “Skills Transformation For The 2021 Workplace” a report by IBM reveals that the top skills from students, that recruiters are looking for in 2021 are, growth mindset, continuous learning, critical thinking, survival skills, resilience, curiosity, flexibility, dedication etc.
Fastest-Growing Cybersecurity Skills for 2021are, Application development security, cloud security, risk management, threat intelligence, incident response, data privacy, access management, security strategy and health information security.
The world of work will change over the next few years, not only because of COVID but also because of the deep economic recession.
There will be more working from home, and office environment like 9-to-5 pm concept is decreasing.
Virtual meetings will affect business travels and people more rely on Zooming, Skyping, etc.
The “Future of Jobs” Survey data shows that nearly 50% of all workers need reskilling, up 4% compared to last year.
Employers are increasingly recognising the value of investing in their employees’ skill development. Emerging technologies like robotics, automation, digitalisation and artificial intelligence have changed almost all workplaces requirements and strategies.
The current situation requires, creating an environment that leads to helping workers a chance to learn these skills and adapt, and thrive in the 21st Century workplace.
According to the new Future of Jobs Report, by “World Economic Forum”, 85 million jobs will be displaced across 26 countries by 2025, while 97 million will be added newly.
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To protect workers, companies and governments must ensure social safety measures, reskilling and upskilling programs, for employee well-being.
Unemployment amongst new college graduates from higher education institutions will remain high with many 2020 graduates entering 2021 still unemployed. Present 2021 graduates should gain work experience through internships and mini-projects, on campus, for competing in job markets. For a successful career, 2021 graduates will need to rely on networking, which is very effective.
As per LinkedIn’s 2020 Workplace Learning Report, skill gaps have to be closed in the next 3 to 5 years. Otherwise, it affects innovation capability, customer satisfaction, product development etc.
The LinkedIn report also cites that 57 per cent of global organisations focus on leadership and management skills, 42 per cent on creative problem solving and design thinking skills and, 40 per cent on communication skills.
With the COVID-19 pandemic causing a projected loss of 195 million jobs, interruptions to education, preparing young people to learn, earn and thrive in a post-COVID world requires immediate attention.
The technical skills required for most sectors quickly become outdated because of rapid changes in technology and the speed of automation. The “World Economic Forum” projects that by 2022 at least 54% of all employees will need reskilling and upskilling to respond to changing work requirements.
All these things, will put a lot of pressure on global companies and economies and on global job markets as well. Therefore in the present context and reality, young people need to quickly learn new skills, adapt, practice resiliency and take advantages of this pandemic, to respond to global realistic conditions.
The presence of “machines” and usage of “new technologies” in the workplace is going to be mandatory and is increasing rapidly across the globe.
Gartner has estimated that the number of robots in work all over the world, both small and big, will grow from 4.9 billion in 2015 to more than 30 billion by 2025.
Therefore, governments and higher education institutions should prepare students well in advance, to face these future challenges in job markets and enable them to compete with machines in future.
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