The Future of Work ... and not only

We are experiencing a unique, unexpected period, the worst year ever for our professional but also personal projects. All plans have been upset, canceled or postponed to a date to be defined. We had to replace them with recovery plans, find alternative solutions, invent ways to survive the lack of work and sociality. Some more and some less, all of us have suffered consequences due to the pandemic. Growing inequality has been a problem for years and the current crisis will make it even more evident by affecting communities and workers who were already disadvantaged. Millions of people have lost their jobs and certainties, in a context where automation and robotics were already putting jobs in crisis.

The world economic forum published the third edition of its Future of Jobs Report in October and today it is particularly interesting to understand what the trends are after such a complicated 2020. It appears that technology-driven creation of new professions will continue to wipe out some types of jobs, but the economic crisis has slowed the growth rate of the jobs of the future. It will therefore be necessary to help many workers in the transition with public and private support never seen before.

Companies have tried to adapt to the new reality by implementing important measures such as the acceleration of the digital transformation of processes and work tools, providing workers with the possibility of working remotely and others with negative consequences on the economy and society, as seen in the figure .

This is combined with the already rapid process of change in the world of work following technological development, creating a problem for those who have to adapt and for companies looking for new skills. So we need to facilitate reskilling and upskilling to help workers orient themselves in the panorama of new professions. The next figure shows which are the top skills required by the market.

A mix of hard and soft skills on which we will have to focus to remain attractive on the market. And finally here below the most requested professionals in the future, against those that will be increasingly at risk.

I am not surprised by the growing demand in the field of big data, artificial intelligence and digital transformation. But we note the advancement of the figure of Project Managers because the future will see us face challenging and increasingly complex projects. Just think of the relaunch and restart projects that will have to be carried out by companies but also by all governments.

These are just some of the information and a small part of the statistics that you can find in the World Economic Forum report, but they are the ones that impressed me the most.

 A terrible year is about to end, time to take stock but also to plan for 2021. When the fight against the virus is over the world will be different from before and we will have to try to keep positive achievements, such as smart working, the reduction of pollution, solidarity with those in difficulty. Nations and governments will have to question globalization and the need to review supply chains, take decisive action on reducing emissions. Digital and green will have to be the two watchwords of the present and the future.

We are at a crossroads and the decisions we make today will mark the next decades. We need to work to create a society that cares about people and planet, and only then about profit.

The only thing worse than the current crisis would be wasting the opportunity to build a more equitable and sustainable reality, for us and for future generations.