How can you develop your employees’ skills for the jobs of the future?

A study carried out by McKinsey has recently revealed that 800 million jobs are expected to be lost to new technologies by 2030. It is also estimated that 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 have not yet been created. So, how can current roles be developed to anticipate future needs? How can you train your employees to ensure that they are ready for the future? We tell you everything you need to know about the jobs of the future in this article.

How can you anticipate the jobs of the future?

Anticipating the future needs of companies in terms of human resources is a crucial exercise to keep pace with changes in the world of work. The better companies understand the upcoming developments, the better equipped they will be to respond to these changes. Over the last ten years or so, with the development of digital technology, many new jobs have been created, forcing some companies to completely rethink their operations. Hiring, redundancies, training plans… the consequences of these upheavals can be quite significant. Moreover, they entail financial, human and sometimes material investment.

Making projections on future occupations requires taking into account the current demographic situation and employment trends. By studying the current needs of companies, some research institutes are able to predict future job creation and loss. New training courses are created every year and many employees retire and are not replaced, which indicates a change in the expectations and needs of the professional world. Today’s jobs no longer resemble those of the past, and those of the future will also be very different indeed. Although it is difficult to accurately predict the titles of these new jobs, certain trends are very clear.

Responding to new business needs

Forward-looking management of jobs and skills (GPEC – Gestion Prévisionnelle des Emplois et des Compétences) is an approach that allows for a better understanding of changes in terms of jobs and skills in the world of work. GPEC can be carried out at company, occupational sector or even regional level in certain cases.

There are various advantages to this approach, including:

• Reducing recruitment difficulties;
• Resolving overstaffing issues;
• Adapting training programmes;
• Enabling employees to upgrade their skills;
• Supporting change in companies;
• Encouraging the involvement and personal development of employees;
• Reducing the costs associated with potential imbalances;
• Solving age pyramid problems.

The emergence of new professions can lead to business disruption, but the aim of GPEC is to anticipate changes so as to avoid this phenomenon.

On a global scale, digital technology is revolutionising the job market and presenting ever greater opportunities. This is why the European Commission has set the objective of promoting projects and strategies to improve the level of digital skills of employees in Europe.

The emergence of technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality promises to revolutionise the world of work. New roles are expected to emerge and new training courses will be developed for the next generation.

Artificial intelligence is expected to be an important milestone in transforming the world of work and is currently a real revolution in innovation. Technologies such as voice assistants like Siri and Alexa or autonomous vehicles bear witness to a major change in the digital world. A study by Servion Global Solutions predicts that artificial intelligence will be responsible for 95% of consumer interactions by 2025.

What will the jobs of the future be?

Technological innovations will be accompanied by the emergence of new roles and new departments within companies. Here are some examples of new jobs that are expected to become commonplace in companies by 2030.

The data analyst

Data analysts are responsible for identifying consumer insights based on a large amount of collected data. They collect data from various sources, synthesise it and analyse it in order to build user profiles. Data analysts help companies to better understand their customers and prospects so that they can tailor their value proposition, targeting and communication.

The AI personality designer

The role of AI personality designer combines the professional skills of a psychologist with those of an engineer. The main focus of their work is to study automated virtual assistants to make them think and interact in a human way.

The ethicist

The development of artificial intelligence is generating new barriers and obstacles for companies that have already taken the plunge. Algorithms evolve and require regular adjustment in order to function better in society without becoming harmful to humans. For example, robots are increasingly present in warehouses: the role of the ethicist is therefore to optimise them in order to ensure that they maintain a positive impact.

Ultimately, the future world of work is already changing. The jobs of future generations will not be the same as they are today, just as their fields of application are likely to change considerably. While the digital sector has already generated a first wave of new jobs over the last ten years, a second wave is expected to shake up current business practices.

Anticipating the needs of companies and the evolution of these needs will make it possible to prepare for the future by offering training plans, career development and skills upgrading to current employees.

 

For more information please visit: www.manutan.co.uk/future-of-work