According to a study by the World Economic Forum, artificial intelligence can greatly change the labor market in the next five years. TV channel Euronews calls several professions that will be in demand in the near future.
Professions related to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology will become the most in demand over the next five years, according to the WEF report.
The explosion of interest in artificial intelligence in recent months, thanks to the emergence of tools such as ChatGPT and Midjourney, has raised concerns about the impact of this technological revolution on the labor market.
Economists and labor experts try to predict which jobs are most at risk and which new jobs will be created.
The World Economic Forum has released a report on the future of work detailing which jobs will be most in demand over the next five years and which ones are in danger of disappearing.
Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists top the list of most in-demand occupations. They are monitored by sustainability specialists, business analysts and information security experts.
On the other side are bank employees, postmen and cashiers.
Here are the ten most and least promising jobs, according to the WEF.
The most dynamic professions
- Experts in artificial intelligence and machine learning
- Sustainable development managers
- business intelligence
- Experts in the field of information security
- Fintech specialists
- Data analysts and data engineers
- Robotics specialists
- electrical engineers
- Farm Equipment Operators
- Digital transformation specialists
The fastest shrinking jobs
- Bank employees and related professions
- Postal service employees
- Cashiers
- Data Entry Operators
- Secretaries
- Materials Accounting and Warehouse Accounting Clerk
- accountants
- Legislators and officials
- Accountants-statisticians, financial and insurance
- Itinerant traders and related professions
14 million jobs at risk
The WEF’s “Future of Work” report is based on data from a survey of the world’s largest employers. Researchers uncovered employers’ expectations for the next five years. The survey covered 803 companies that collectively employ more than 11 million people in 27 sectors and 45 economies from all regions of the world.
The report says employers predict 69 million new jobs will be created, but 83 million more will disappear. This is a drop of 2% in employment, or 14 million jobs. The report attributes the decline to economic problems, including high inflation, economic downturns and supply shortages.
In terms of absolute job losses, data entry operators will be the hardest hit, with 8 million job losses expected within five years, followed by secretaries and accountants. These three professions together account for more than half of expected job losses, notes the Future of Work 2023 report.
At the same time, the gradual adoption of technology and increasing digitization will lead to the most significant changes in the labor market and will be a positive factor for the creation of new jobs. More than three-quarters of companies surveyed plan to implement big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence technologies in the next five years.
But the technological revolution is also responsible for many expected losses. Online banking stands out as a service that is causing more and more bank branch closures, and bank workers could expect a 40% reduction in their numbers over the next five years.
Automation, sensor technology and online services are reducing the need for postal workers, cashiers and data entry operators – the number of people employed in these professions is expected to fall by more than a third.
“In 2023, labor market transformations driven by technological breakthroughs such as the advent of the age of artificial intelligence are exacerbated by economic and geopolitical upheavals, as well as growing social and environmental pressures,” said said Saadia Zahidi, managing director of World Economic Forum, writes in the report’s preface.
“After significant labor market volatility over the past three years, we hope the insights presented in this report will contribute to an ambitious multi-stakeholder agenda to better prepare workers, businesses, governments, educators and civil society. to upcoming changes, opportunities, and to enable them to navigate these social, environmental and technological transitions,” Zahidi writes.
Jobs related to sustainable development are multiplying
Global efforts to decarbonize industries to combat climate change will lead to a notable increase in sustainability-related jobs in the near future, the report says.
By the end of the decade, some 30 million jobs in clean energy and low-emission technologies could be created.
However, there are questions about how new workers will acquire the necessary skills. Employers surveyed estimate that over the next five years around 44% of workers will be deprived of essential skills, with cognitive skills, such as complex problem solving, being seen as the most important.
By 2027, six in ten workers will need advanced training, but only half, experts say, now have access to relevant training opportunities.
One of the key skills that many companies want to train their employees is to work with artificial intelligence, which is expected to be used by almost 75% of companies. At the same time, half of them expect AI to lead to an increase in the number of jobs, and the remaining 25% – to reduce it.
Source: delfi
