Future of jobs SUMMARY ARTICLE It is estimated that over half of Swiss children starting primary school in September 2020 will, by the time they finish their education, find a job working in a role that does not yet exist. Equally, socio-economic developments and improvements in technology mean that many occupations which were once high in demand are beginning to disappear. So, what are the catalysts for this change, and what skills should we be equipping the next generation with to deal with this rapidly evolving employment landscape? A recently published report has sought to shed some light on these issues by asking Human Resources Directors (HRDS) for large global organisations to predict what the future of their industries will look like in 10 years and, more specifically, which impending changes will have the greatest impact on the future of jobs. Industry group Basic & Infrastructure Consumer Energy The number of employees employed by the large global organisations represented by the Human Resources Directors (HRDS) who completed the survey, split by industry group Healthcare Information & Communication Technology Financial Services & Investors Catalysts to change The last decade has seen huge technological advances, and these developments have united previously disjointed occupations. Robotics, genetics, nanotechnology, machine learning, 3D printing and artificial intelligence, which were on the very fringes of science, are now commonplace in manufacturing and business. Alongside these technological advances, socio-economic and geopolitical shifts are causing business models to be redesigned. HRDS highlight one issue in particular that needs to be considered - quantifying skills shortages within an occupation, job family or entire industry. A further factor needing to be considered to understand how the benefits and burdens of these changes will be distributed is the future proportions of men and women in the workplace, currently split 50:50 across the globe as a whole. Others Changing nature of work Current trends estimate a net global employment impact of more than 8.3 million jobs being disrupted by market Industries Overall Number of employees 1,967,000 1,275,000 2,892,000 3,556,000 971,000 1,082,000 2,643,000 changes over the period 2020-2028, with a total reduction of 4.1 million positions. Nearly three-quarters of these will come from white-collar office. functions such as administration and supply management. 14,386,000 This report also suggests an increase of 2 million jobs in Science, Technology. Engineering and Maths (STEM) occupations, and an equal fall in the number of positions expected in the Manufacturing and Production industries. However, the authors of the report conclude that employers in these sectors have great opportunity to re-energise, reskill and redeploy their workforce rather than simply replacing them. Respondents from across practically all industries and geographies noted that data analysts will be required to make sense of the data generated by new technology, specialised sales representatives will be needed to explain businesses' offerings to clients and consumers, and a new type of chie executive will thrive - someone who is able to help steer companies through these unpredictable times.