Future of labour: Tech skills driving jobs growth in 2025

A man doing programming job on a laptop.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Broadening digital access is expected to be the most transformative trend in business growth and expansion this year, with advancements, particularly in Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics and automation among others setting the pace, a new report shows.

The newly-published Future of Jobs 2025 report authored by the World Economic Forum (WEF) further indicates that the trends are expected to have a divergent effect on jobs, driving both the fastest-growing and fastest-declining roles, while fueling demand for technology-related skills.

According to the report that incorporates employer views, the top three fastest growing skills in the year will include expertise in AI and big data, networks and cybersecurity as well as general technological literacy.

Additionally, technology-related roles that will drive the fastest jobs growth in percentage terms will include Big Data specialists, Fintech Engineers, AI and Machine Learning specialists as well as Software and Application Developers.

“AI and big data top the list of fastest-growing skills, followed closely by networks and cybersecurity as well as technology literacy. Complementing these technology-related skills, creative thinking, resilience, flexibility and agility, along with curiosity and life-long learning, are also expected to continue to rise in importance over the 2025-2030 period,” notes WEF.

“Conversely, manual dexterity, endurance and precision stand out with notable net declines in skills demand, with 24 percent of respondents foreseeing a decrease in their importance.”

WEF noted that although more generalised adoption of AI applications remains comparatively low with only a fraction of firms using it in yesteryears, adoption is growing, albeit unevenly across sectors.

The Information Technology sector has been singled out as leading the way in AI adoption while industries such as construction are lagging.

According to the survey, this disparity mirrors broader trends, with advanced and middle-income economies experiencing unprecedented diffusion of generative AI technologies among individual users while low-income countries remain largely on the margins with minimal use of the technology.

“While the full extent of long-term productivity gains from the technology remains uncertain, workplace studies have identified various initial ways for generative AI to enhance human skills and performance. Some of these studies have highlighted ways for generative AI to enhance human core skills, or to substitute for tacit knowledge among newer or average performing workers,” reads the report.

“Other studies have shown generative AI can enhance knowledge work if applied appropriately within its capability, but risks producing adverse outcomes where users unknowingly stretch it beyond its capability.”

Elsewhere, observers have argued that generative AI could empower less specialised employees to perform a greater range of ‘expert’ tasks thereby expanding the possible functions of roles such as accounting clerks, nurses and teaching assistants.

Similarly, the analysts argue, the technology could equip skilled professionals such as electricians, doctors or engineers in the world’s forefront knowledge, enabling them to solve complex problems more efficiently.

Software and application developers, general and operations managers as well as project managers are among other top job categories that are set to drive the most net job growth during the year.

The WEF report however notes that without appropriate decision-making frameworks, economic incentive structures and possibly, government regulations, there remains a risk that technological developments will be focused on replacing human work, which could increase inequality and unemployment.

“While currently seen as less transformative than GenAI, robots and autonomous systems have seen steady growth of around five to seven percent annually since 2020. In 2023, global average robot density reached 162 units per 10,000 employees, double the number seven years earlier.”

According to surveyed executives, the fastest declining jobs this year will include clerical roles such as cashiers and ticketing clerks, alongside administrative assistants and executive secretaries, printing workers, accountants and auditors.

“Broadening digital access, AI and information processing technologies, and robots and autonomous systems are the primary drivers for this decline,” wrote WEF.

Overall, employers expect 39 percent of workers’ core skills to change by 2030 in a far-reaching skill disruption landscape that’s a revision from the 44 percent projected as of 2023.

A key element cited as contributing to this finding is the growing focus on continuous learning, upskilling and reskilling programmes, enabling companies to better anticipate and manage future skill requirements.

PAYE Tax Calculator

Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.