Technological change has continually reshaped the workplace for 2 centuries; from the Industrial Revolution to the present and as advances arise, some jobs come and go. However, the speed with which automation technologies are developing today and the scale of their impact are already permeating the deepest layers of the world of work in unprecedented ways.
According to the World Economic Forum, at least 1 billion people will need training and learning new technologies by 2030; the development of task automation through new technologies promises greater productivity and with it, economic growth, greater efficiency, safety and comfort.
Many of the activities that employees perform today have the potential to be automated and with this the challenges in the labor markets are increasing, and the differences in skills and knowledge between workers are increasingly marked. It is clear that technology revolutionizes business and the economy; however, the transformation can only occur if the evolution of talent is committed.
Talent transformation goes beyond finding the right skills and numbers. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the supply of new technology-related jobs is expected to grow 25% between 2021 and 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. In addition, it is expected that some 162,900 vacancies in this category will be offered each year.
The reason that the demand is increasing is that there are gaps in technical skills, but also in soft skills, such as communication, teamwork and leadership. Education systems have not kept pace with the changing nature of work, so many employers say they cannot find enough workers with the skills they need. In the case of Latin America, despite the fact that the industry is expanding, 48% of job vacancies cannot be filled due to a lack of qualified talent, according to Oracle.
The future of work lies in transition. It is estimated that by 2030, between 30 and 40% of all workers will have to change professions or at least improve their skills, reports McKinsey. This means that most occupations will change, and more people will have to work with technology.
Although technologies replace some jobs, the reality is that new jobs and ways of generating income are being created in industries that were previously unimaginable. The impact of new technologies on employment can be very positive, since they allow new forms of business activity. A new category of knowledge-based jobs will become possible as knowledge is democratized and more people can access this kind of training. A Citrix report revealed that 87% of employees believe that by using technology to automate certain tasks, minimizing friction, they can focus on meaningful work that engages them.
Digital education platforms have the potential to improve the forms of access to knowledge most in demand in the industry, inducing more people to fill the thousands of jobs available, creating transparency and efficiency in labor markets and potentially benefiting the local and national economy. And it is that, even if a small fraction of adults interested in learning programming skills use these platforms to learn first and then work a few hours a week, the economic impact would be significant.
Thanks to its disruptive capabilities for collaboration and learning from specific algorithms, an online teaching solution can speed up the hiring process and reduce the time individuals spend looking for work, mitigating unemployment. By integrating the skills demanded by companies from certain countries, or entire regions, they can even bridge geographic gaps and enable internationalization that would not occur traditionally.
