scientific journal of the modern education & research institute • The Kingdom of Belgium
The worldwide lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated with it global recession of 2020 have created a highly uncertain labor market outlook and accelerated the transition to a new work relationship.
According to the report of the World Economic Forum «Future of Jobs 2020», the pandemic accelerated the shift to remote working by 83% over expected level, the rate of digital tools adoption increased by 84%, and automation – by 50%. In addition to the introduction of cloud technologies, technologies based on big data, which we have already got used to, we are now experiencing a significant interest in encryption, the use of robots and artificial intelligence. Automation has had the greatest impact on the HR decisions of companies. This trend is only expected to intensify and will lead to a transformation of job tasks, professions and skills needed in the labor market by 2025. 43% of CEOs that participates in the WEF survey said they intend to downsize by integrating technology, 41% plan to expand the use of contractors for specialized tasks. Researchers estimate that 85 million jobs will disappear by 2025 as a result of the redistribution of labor between humans, machines and algorithms, and 97 million new roles will emerge that will be shared between humans, machines and algorithms. It is also estimated that the time spent by machines and humans on job tasks will become equal by 2025. Low-wage workers, women, and young professionals are the most vulnerable on the job market after the pandemic. Comparing the impact of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis on those with lower levels of education to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, it can be concluded that the impact today is much greater and more likely to deepen existing social and economic inequalities. To survive in the new job paradigm, it is essential to increase the level of education, to learn new skills and competencies and to become flexible towards career turns. The so-called «jobs of tomorrow» offer more opportunities for people who will completely rethink their professional trajectory or change jobs completely. Mastering new skills in big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence allows more opportunities on the labor market in frontier areas.
Ekaterina Tsaranok
Director Modern Education & Research Institute
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