- Over 50% of people in the US and China fear their skills could become partially or fully redundant this decade, as do workers in India, Spain, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.
- More than a third of workers in China, a quarter in the USA, India, and Australia, and a fifth in Japan, the UK, Brazil and Nigeria expect to see robots or computers eventually taking over their jobs.
- A combination of poor collaboration between the public and private sector, and limited time and finances, are hindering upskilling efforts in the labor market, the report finds.
- The research points to lower confidence in governments, NGOs, community organizations or unions to support their upskilling and training compared to business.
A new report from the Global Labor Market Conference has found that the exponential pace of technological change has many people in the world’s biggest economies fearful that their job skills will become obsolete in the near future.
Navigating Tomorrow: Mastering Skills in a Dynamic Global Labor Market shows that workers are pushing for opportunities to retrain in the face of powerful global forces, with those in markets where there is “rapid technological industrialization” feeling the most urgency.
The report published today surveyed thousands of people to show how economic globalization, shifting demographic patterns, the pace of technological change, and the emergence of climate change are shaping labor markets, skill demand, and the essence of work across 14 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
Most workers in big economies fear their job skills are becoming obsolete due to technology
As part of the report, respondents were asked which global trends they feared could make their skills partially or fully obsolete in the next five years, with technological change by far the most selected option overall, outstripping globalization, climate change, and demographic shifts.
In Brazil (61%) and China (60%) almost two thirds of people thought some or all of their skills could become obsolete, compared to more than half in the USA (51%), India (55%), Spain (54%), Saudi Arabia (56%), South Africa (57%), Nigeria (59%), and sizeable proportions of people in the UK (44%), and Japan (33%).
The survey indicated that in countries where there had been a rapid technological shift in the last five years, labor market participants had been more inclined to acquire new skills to bridge the gap between current capabilities and the demands of an evolving job market.
China is the Most Technologically Anxious Market
There was a noticeably higher number of people in China (36%) who feared that computers and robots could eventually take over their job, compared to India (26%), Australia and Vietnam (25%), the USA and South Africa (24%), Saudi Arabia (23%), and Brazil, the UK, and Nigeria (21%), and Japan (20%).
According to existing research, China and India together account for the largest technically automatable employment potential in the G20 [1].
Factors Restricting Efforts to Upskill and Reskill
The research found that a large share of people (44%) feel the responsibility for upskilling in the labor market should fall on them, representing a market that values self-improvement. The report’s authors suggested the complex interplay of diverse priorities between governments, businesses and unions, coupled with education and training systems that fall short, could be hampering the ability for some workers around the world to upskill.
In addition, despite over 60% of respondents reporting that employers have opted to re–skill employees, over 40% identified lack of time as the most significant barrier to further developing skills, closely followed by financial constraints (39%). To coincide with this, 19% of respondents felt the current educational system was out of step with the new skills context.
Confidence in Government to Support Upskilling Efforts is Lacking Compared to Business
Respondents had significantly more confidence (49%) in business to support upskilling and reskilling efforts when compared to governments (20%), NGOs or community organizations (19%), or unions (12%) – indicative of employers prioritizing the development of human capital and an expectation for employers to play a proactive role in workforce development.
Only in Saudia Arabia (35%) and India (31%) did the government enjoy a substantial share of trust to support upskilling and reskilling efforts. Trust in government was markedly lower in most other markets, including the United States (15%), UK (12%) and Norway (9%). However, unions enjoyed higher trust in Norway (31%).
Climate Change More Likely to Impact Upskilling Decisions in Worst Affected Nations Surveyed
Climate change had limited determining impact on respondents’ decisions to upskill or reskill. However, markets surveyed in the research that are more acutely feeling the impacts of pollution – namely China (41%), Vietnam (36%), India (32%), and Nigeria (26%) – recorded the greatest need to upskill due to climate change.
Importance of Cognitive, Management, Socio-emotional and STEM Skills
Respondents highlighted four skills as essential for thriving in today’s tech-enabled labor market: cognitive skills, management skills, socio-emotional skills and STEM skills.
Among these, cognitive skills – encompassing critical analysis, problem-solving, and innovative thinking – were rated as the most essential, both now and in the future. Over 50% of respondents emphasized cognitive skills as a top priority for upskilling and reskilling. Interestingly, male respondents tended to favor management and STEM skills for the future, while female respondents were more focused on socioemotional skills
These findings suggest a growing awareness of automation and the need to develop human skills that will help people to succeed in the technology-driven world economy.
Population Aging in Europe Less Concerning Compared to Asia
Despite the pressures of aging populations, demographic changes were seen as much less of an important factor driving upskilling than technological change and globalization by European and Japanese respondents. In contrast, certain Asian countries, such as China, India, and Vietnam, viewed demographic shifts as a more significant issue encouraging upskilling – with nearly 50% of Chinese respondents citing this trend as having prompted them to upskill or reskill.
The Global Labor Market Conference will host the second edition of its annual meeting at the King Abdulaziz International Convention Center in Riyadh from January 29-30, 2025.
Registration for the 2025 event is now open. If you are interested in attending, please register here.
Source: 1. Arntz et al. (2016), McKinsey (2017), Frey & Osbourne (2017)