More than one in five jobs are expected to be fundamentally changed by 2030 as a result of technology change, the green transition, geoeconomic fragmentation, economic uncertainty and demographic shifts, according to the 2025 Future of Jobs report.
The global report, which biennially measures and predicts changes to the employment market, reinforces there is a critical and immediate need to reskill our workforces and workplaces to meet the significant national and global challenges ahead.
The Australian Industry Group is the Australian partner for the global report which biennially measures and predicts changes to the employment market.
Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the Australian Industry Group says there is a “tangled mix of global drivers” transforming jobs globally and in Australia, resulting in skill disruption, new and evolving skill demands, particularly in technology-related fields.
“Sixty-three per cent of employers globally said skill gaps are the biggest barrier to business transformation. While they are making considerable effort to diversify, upskill and support their workforces, this must be complemented by effective public jobs and skills policies in the next five years,” he said.
“That must include strategies to build talent for new and emerging roles; funding for, and provision of, broad reskilling and upskilling; and strategies to support diversity, equity and inclusion, and displaced and mature-aged workers.”
Where to expect change
On current trends over the 2025-2030 period there will be a net growth of 7% of total employment, or 78 million jobs globally, representing both job creation and destruction.
Globally, frontline job roles are predicted to see the largest growth in absolute terms of volume. They include Farmworkers, Delivery Drivers, Salespersons and Food Processing Workers.
Technology-related jobs are the fastest-growing roles in percentage terms, with green and energy transition roles also fast-growing. Included are Big Data Specialists, Fintech Engineers, AI and Machine Learning Specialists and Software and Application Developers.
Over the 2025-2030 period, skill instability, caused by the global transformation drivers, indicates workers globally can expect 39% of their existing skill sets to be transformed or to become outdated.
Seven out of ten employers consider the most sought-after core skill in 2025 to be analytical thinking. This is followed by resilience, flexibility and agility, as well as leadership and social influence.
The fastest-growing skills in 2025 are AI and big data, followed by networks and cyber security, and technology literacy.
Strategies to meet skill demands
With skill gaps the major barrier to business transformation globally, 85% of employers plan to prioritise upskilling their workforce as the main strategy over the 2025 to 2030 period. Major strategies also include employers expecting to hire staff with new skills and to reduce staff as they become less relevant.
As a response to AI, half of all employers plan to reorient their business to target new business opportunities created by AI. A majority of employers will reskill and upskill their existing workforce to better work alongside AI, while a similar percentage intend to hire new people with skills to design AI tools and enhancements appropriate for organisation-specific skills.
Supporting employee health and wellbeing is expected to be a top focus for talent attraction, while the potential for tapping into diverse talent pools – with women the priority group – to expand talent availability is recognised by a much greater share of employers than the last survey in 2023.
Read the full Future of Jobs report here.