By Chinenye Anuforo
A new report from the Global Labor Market Conference has sounded the alarm on a global skills crisis, with a significant portion of workers in major economies fearing their skills could become obsolete within the next five years.
The report, titled “Navigating Tomorrow: Mastering Skills in a Dynamic Global Labor Market,” revealed that technological advancements are the primary driver of this anxiety. Over half of respondents in the US, China, India, Spain, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria expressed concerns about skill redundancy.
The report, published today, surveyed thousands of individuals to examine how economic globalization, demographic shifts, rapid technological advancement, and climate change are reshaping labor markets, skill demands, and the nature of work across 14 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
As part of the survey, respondents were asked to identify the global trends they feared most could render their skills partially or fully obsolete within the next five years. Technological change emerged as the overwhelming concern, surpassing globalization, climate change, and demographic shifts.
A substantial majority of respondents in Brazil (61%) and China (60%) expressed concerns that some or all of their skills could become obsolete. This sentiment was echoed by over half of respondents in the USA (51%), India (55%), Spain (54%), Saudi Arabia (56%), South Africa (57%), and Nigeria (59%). Significant proportions of respondents in the UK (44%) and Japan (33%) also shared these concerns.
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.
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%).
Existing research indicates that China and India collectively possess the largest potential for technological automation within the G20.
The study revealed that a substantial proportion of respondents (44%) believe individual responsibility lies at the heart of labor market upskilling, reflecting a strong emphasis on self-improvement. The report’s authors posit that the intricate interplay of diverse priorities among governments, businesses, and unions, coupled with the shortcomings of education and training systems, may hinder the ability of some workers worldwide to upskill.
Furthermore, despite over 60% of respondents reporting that employers have opted to reskill employees, a significant portion (over 40%) identified time constraints as the primary barrier to further skill development. Financial limitations were cited as the second most significant obstacle (39%). Additionally, 19% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the alignment of the current educational system with emerging skill demands. Respondents demonstrated significantly greater confidence (49%) in the capacity of businesses to support upskilling and reskilling efforts, compared to governments (20%), NGOs or community organizations (19%), or unions (12%). This trend suggests that employers prioritize human capital development and are expected to play a proactive role in workforce development. Saudi Arabia (35%) and India (31%) were the only countries where governments enjoyed significant trust to support upskilling and reskilling efforts. In most other markets, including the United States (15%), the UK (12%), and Norway (9%), trust in governments was notably lower. However, in Norway, unions were viewed with greater trust (31%).W
hile climate change had a limited impact on respondents’ decisions to upskill or reskill, countries more acutely affected by pollution, such as China (41%), Vietnam (36%), India (32%), and Nigeria (26%), exhibited a greater need for upskilling due to climate change.
Respondents identified four key skills as essential for success in today’s technology-driven labor market: cognitive skills, management skills, socio-emotional skills, and STEM skills.
Cognitive skills, encompassing critical analysis, problem-solving, and innovative thinking, were deemed the most crucial, both presently and in the future. Over 50% of respondents prioritized cognitive skills for upskilling and reskilling. Interestingly, male respondents tended to favor management and STEM skills for the future, while female respondents leaned towards socio-emotional skills.
These findings underscore a growing awareness of automation and the need to cultivate human skills that will enable individuals to thrive in the technology-driven global economy.
While demographic changes, particularly aging populations, were considered less significant drivers of upskilling by European and Japanese respondents compared to technological change and globalization, certain Asian countries, such as China, India, and Vietnam, viewed demographic shifts as a more substantial impetus for upskilling. Nearly 50% of Chinese respondents cited demographic trends as a motivation for upskilling or reskilling.