Earlier this month, INC. (inc) meeting with Karen Kimbrough -who leads a team of economists, technologists and researchers “exploring data and insights about why and how business trends are changing,” on the LinkedIn platform (linkedin) since the beginning of 2020 – to provide a comprehensive vision on “developments in the field of employment, and the skills that companies may need in the coming years.”
Karen Kimbrough holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Oxford, an MA in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, and a BA in Economics from Stanford University. She is ranked among the most powerful black women in business for 2017, and is the first guest in most conferences, press and television interviews, and podcasts. .
Kimbrough summarized in her vision 6 of the most important and latest employment trends, and extracted this from the interactions and insights of the accounts of 63 million companies and more than 930 million active members from all over the world on “LinkedIn”, which is the first professional network in providing employment data and trends in the world since its inception Mid 2003.
Employment slowdown
Employment in general is expected to decline by 30%, while the technology sector will see a faster decline of 50%, according to Kimbrough, who says that the technology and media industry in particular is being hit hard; Companies not only lay off employees, but may also hesitate to hire others.
Report showed World Economic Forum About the future of jobs from 2023 to 2027, that “out of the 673 million jobs included in the report, a growth of 69 million jobs is expected, compared to a decline of 83 million jobs, a decrease of 14 million jobs, or 2% of the current employment.”
And if the slowdown may not include some sectors such as health care, oil and gas, and printing, when the time comes for actual employment in some companies, they show some concern about the future of the economy, according to the writer and industrial analyst. Heidi Tolliver Walker.
The fastest growing jobs
In the first quarter of 2022, Kimbrough spoke on the Microsoft Worklab podcast (Microsoft’s WorkLab podcast) about the continuous and amazing expansion of the “health care” industry in all its medical and service specialties, which was confirmed by Andrew Barnes, co-founder and CEO of the “Go1” online learning platform.
Kimbrough says there are bright spots for “non-stop” healthcare work, as well as other areas of strong employment such as hospitality, manufacturing and oil and gas.
According to the World Economic Forum report, artificial intelligence specialists top the list of fast-growing jobs, followed by information security experts, solar and renewable energy, then education, agriculture and digital marketing jobs.
Remote jobs are drying up
Kimbrough notes that remote jobs are drying up, despite the high demand for them, as their percentage on LinkedIn does not exceed 11%, although 50% of the applications on the platform are for remote jobs.
An exception is the printing industry, which Heidi Walker sees as increasingly remote work for IT experts, software developers and customer service representatives.
As for the World Economic Forum report, it indicates that 44% of opportunities will decline in the next five years due to the impact of technology and digitization, and that there are jobs that will decline the most, such as clerical or secretarial work, bank tellers, postal services and data entry.
As for the largest expected losses, they will extend to traditional administrative and security jobs, as the report expects them to decrease by 26 million jobs by 2027.
Skills and practical experience are more important than degrees and job titles
“Employees need to invest in themselves and prepare for lifelong learning” if they want to achieve job independence and be competitive, Kimbrough says.
Instead of focusing on an MBA or similar degree, Kimbrough advises investing in work experience, saying, “The more you have the required practical skills, the more you can compete in the job market.”
he testified Linkedin An increase in employers highlighting skills and work experience, more than university degrees or job titles.
On the Microsoft Work Lab podcast, Kimbrough noted that LinkedIn data showed that “many jobs are evolving rapidly, making it imperative for people to learn new skills throughout their lives, even if they stay in the same position.”
Instead of focusing on an MBA or any of the similar degrees, experts advise investing in practical experiences to achieve competition in the job market.
When asked what skills would have a strong future, Kimbrough said, “The ability to analyze massive amounts of data, the ability to communicate and lead with empathy and respect are skills that become more important with age, and no machine can do them better than a human.”
The World Economic Forum report predicted that big data analytics, coding, and cybersecurity will be among the biggest drivers of job growth, along with analytical and creative thinking, flexibility, agility, self-awareness, curiosity and learning, active listening and social influence, and adapting to turbulent workplaces, “among the most basic skills for workers.” in 2023.”
Artificial intelligence will threaten the jobs of the average skilled
Kimbrough reiterates that skills training is critical, as AI is expected to disrupt “skill middle class” jobs.
He mentioned the “Britain in Arabic” account on the website Twitter The British Telecom Company is “preparing to cut 55,000 jobs, replace most of them and suffice with artificial intelligence.”
The report of the World Economic Forum showed that “about 75% of companies will use artificial intelligence,” and predicted that agricultural technologies, digital applications, and e-commerce will lead to significant disruption in the labor market, and structural change that includes 23% of jobs in the next five years.
However, he pointed out that this effect “may be temporary”, as more than 85% of the companies included in the report confirmed that reliance on new technology and technologies “may have a positive impact in the long term.”