Automation will displace 85 million jobs by 2025: World Economic Forum

Roles are set to change when companies’ adopt technologies that will transform tasks, jobs and skills, creating new employment opportunities.
By: | December 11, 2020

By 2025, automation will displace some 85 million jobs, says the World Economic Forum in a report on the future of jobs. 

Roles are set to change when companies’ adopt technologies that will transform tasks, jobs and skills. 

Some 43% of companies surveyed intend to cut their workforce because of technology integration, 41% plan to use contractors for task-based jobs, while 34% plan to expand their workforce as a result of technology integration. 

The move to automation will also create some 97 million jobs, says the report. New roles are set to emerge in tech fields like artificial intelligence, and in content creation careers, such as social media management and content writing. 

In five years, skills like analytical thinking, creativity, and flexibility will be crucial, it says. Employers have also cited critical thinking, analysis and problem-solving as important, although this has been consistent throughout previous publications of the survey. 

READ: Degrees good, skills essential – The new validation for today’s workforce

But employers now also place an importance on traits in self-management such as active learning, resilience, stress tolerance, and flexibility.

It also predicts that for workers to remain relevant in the workforce, nearly half will need retraining for their core skills.