The advent of technological developments has made many old jobs obsolete and created demand for a variety of new roles and career paths. According to a 2018 report by Dell Technologies and the Institute of the Future, 85% of the jobs of 2030 haven’t even been invented yet.
This idea of this brave new world is certainly exciting, especially for job seekers. What roles will people be looking for in a decade? There’s no way to know for sure now, but here are seven career skills that experts predict will be greatly needed in the world of tomorrow.
1. Data analysis/data storytelling
Information is power, and nowhere is this more prevalent than in business. Corporations strive to gather as much data about their customers as possible to identify consumer preferences, understand market trends, and gain insight on spending habits.
Yet all this data is useless without experts who can interpret and analyse it, and put it into context.
According to international analytics platform Tableau, almost 70% of employees are expected to use data heavily for their jobs in 2023, compared with 40% reported in 2018.
2. Cybersecurity
An unfortunate consequence of this generation’s heavy reliance on gadgets and the internet is the rise of cybercriminals and scammers.
While cybersecurity was once mainly a concern for businesses trying to protect trade secrets, everyday transactions are now being performed on apps, in line with a rise in home and remote working owing to the pandemic. This has expanded the need for more secure – nay, impenetrable – online systems.
Analytics Insight predicts that up to 10 million jobs in cybersecurity will be required in 2023, compared with a mere 3 million in 2019.
3. User experience (UX)
Even the most cutting-edge technological advances can never catch on if people have difficulty using them. A study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers revealed that 32% of consumers would leave a brand they enjoyed after just one bad experience.
This is why UX is crucial, especially when today’s purchasers are bombarded with endless choice and variety. Great UX designers provide customers with positive experiences to ensure their loyalty and continued service.
4. Project management
Project management involves the planning and organisation of a company’s resources to move a specific task, event, or duty towards completion. Whether for an online or in-person sales campaign, or a symposium involving multinational corporations and governments, a project manager’s expertise is crucial.
According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), employers will need nearly 88 million individuals in project management-oriented roles by 2027.
5. Artificial intelligence
The Age of the Machines is upon us – but despite what many science-fiction movies may say, this is a good thing. Virtually all of today’s modern conveniences require some kind of artificial intelligence (AI), and developments in automation have helped companies save massive amounts of time, labour and resources.
As such, knowledge of programming and machine-learning techniques can give anyone an edge in this digital work landscape.
The global Artificial Intelligence market size was valued at US$136.6 billion (RM584 billion) last year, and is projected to reach US$1.6 trillion by 2030.
6. Digital marketing
Social media has forever changed the way people communicate, advertise, and purchase anything. Digital marketing has become a primary method for corporations to reach out, using techniques such as paid social media advertising, influencer-led campaigns, search engine optimisation (SEO), and email marketing funnels.
In 2021, US$436 billion was spent on digital advertising spending around the world. In comparison, “just” US$196 billion was spent on traditional advertising.
7. Creativity
Today, AI generators can create art and conjure up content in the fraction of a second. Yet, as advanced as these programs are, they will never be able to completely recreate the spark of life: the emotional, imperfect, and transcendent parts of our spirit that make us truly human.
In this day and age when boxes can think for you, the ability to think out of the box becomes even more crucial. Almost all jobs still require fresh and original thinkers who are able to consistently develop new, efficient ideas and techniques.
To wit, the World Economic Forum listed creativity, originality and initiative among its top 10 job skills in its Future of Job Reports 2020.
This article was written by Terence Toh of ReSkills.com, a local online education platform aiming to make education affordable and accessible for all.