How to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow

New technologies have changed how we live and work. As businesses transform, the workforce must also transform to meet the needs of the digital world. Technology related jobs follow technology trends, so the future of work will include completely new occupations in emerging technologies, such as internet of things (IoT) specialists; many traditional roles such as software and application developers will require updated skills. Many daily tasks will be replaced by automation, so data entry, bookkeeping and other administrative work may be virtually eliminated.

The World Economic forum’s Future of Jobs Report of 2020 estimated that by 2025, ‘85 million jobs could be displaced due to a shift in the division of labour between humans and machines and 97 million new roles more compatible with the new division of labour between humans could emerge.’ How can employers and employees cope with this historical job shift?

Identify skill gaps

First, businesses need to think about their organisation’s goals and then identify missing skills. Of course, some existing skills may be complementary to emerging fields. For example, a product development team’s excellent research skills can transfer to the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Further, agile teams can pivot from traditional workstyles to new methods, such as a DevOps approach with digital transformation.

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After you identify the skills you need, you can create roles in your organisation that will best fit those needs. Examples of IT jobs that will be in high demand are digital transformation specialists, cloud computing specialists, DevOps engineers, data analysts and scientists, artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists, robotics engineers, process automation specialists, metaverse and AR/VR developers, and various cybersecurity and green IT related roles. Jobs in other sectors include ecommerce and social media specialists (consumer sector), renewable energy engineers (energy), fintech engineers (financial services), health biologists and genetics specialists (health).

3 strategies to prepare teams for tomorrow

Now that we know the types of skills that will be needed in the next few years, we can strategically invest time, energy and resources into building teams who can acheive company goals. Here are three strategies to consider:

• Establish training programs. Job seekers want growth opportunities, so training programs will attract new employees as well as increase job satisfaction and retention of existing talent through reskilling and upskilling. Trend-setter Google recently announced it is investing $100 million for US residents to become certified in various IT-related job skills.
• Develop remote work policies. More than ever before, virtual tools support flexibility for remote workers, so employee location doesn’t need to be an obstacle to hiring top talent. Be sure to clearly communicate and enforce rules and expectations and use intelligent KPIs (key performance indicators) to ensure peak performance.
• Expand your talent search internationally. Many countries have special visa programs to import talent. For example, the UK's Global Talent visa, evaluated by Technation, offers a residence and work permit for three to five years. Alternatively, there are employer of record (EOR) organisations like Global Employment Outsourcing (GEO), who partner with employers to provide access to global talent without worrying about international taxes or labour laws.

Don’t forget passion

Success comes from loving what you do and being passionate about it. Help employees become passionate about supporting company goals and you won’t need to worry about the future. Encourage a passion for continued learning and allow employees to use their talents and pursue their interests. Foster great teamwork by helping employees develop clear communication skills and the ability to work successfully in diverse teams. Set clear goals and expectations and your teams will be ready to evolve as needed. Then you can celebrate their success!