A report released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia said that over half the workforce in major economies, including the USA, China, India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, fear their job skills could become partially or fully obsolete this decade.
Fear of skills obsolescence afflicts over 50 per cent of people in major economies. It is particularly pronounced in Brazil (61 per cent) and China (60 per cent), with more than half of the respondents in the USA (51 per cent), India (55 per cent), Spain (54 per cent), Saudi Arabia (56 per cent), South Africa (57 per cent), and Nigeria (59 per cent) expressing similar concerns.
The report, titled ‘Navigating Tomorrow: Mastering Skills in a Dynamic Global Labor Market’ and released at the Global Labour Market Conference (GLMC), highlights the urgent need for lifelong learning and upskilling amidst rapid technological changes, economic globalisation, demographic shifts, and climate change.
Workforce obsolescence fears
With workers increasingly pushing for opportunities to retrain in the face of powerful global forces, especially in markets experiencing rapid technological industrialisation, the report also underscores Saudi Arabia’s commitment to workforce development, aligning with the Vision 2030 goals by focusing on economic diversification and job creation.
The study revealed that a significant portion of workers in China (36 per cent) fear that computers and robots could eventually replace their jobs.
This concern is also prevalent in India (26 per cent), Australia and Vietnam (25 per cent), the USA and South Africa (24 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (23 per cent). With China and India accounting for the largest technically automatable employment potential in the G20, highlighting the global scale of this issue.
However, the report identifies several barriers hindering upskilling efforts. A combination of poor collaboration between the public and private sectors, limited time, and financial constraints are significant obstacles.
Despite over 60 per cent of respondents reporting that employers have opted to re-skill employees, over 40 per cent identified lack of time as the most significant barrier to further developing skills, closely followed by financial constraints (39 per cent).
Additionally, 19 per cent felt that the current educational system was out of step with the new skills context.
The respondents showed significantly more confidence in businesses (49 per cent) to support upskilling and reskilling efforts compared to governments (20 per cent), NGOs or community organisations (19 per cent), or unions (12 per cent). Only in Saudi Arabia (35 per cent) and India (31 per cent) did the government enjoy a substantial share of trust to support these efforts.
Trust in government was markedly lower in countries like the United States (15 per cent) and the UK (12 per cent).
The report also found out that climate change had an impact on respondents’ decisions to upskill or reskill.
Markets like China (41 per cent), Vietnam (36 per cent), India (32 per cent), and Nigeria (26 per cent) recorded the greatest need to upskill due to climate change.
The report also highlights the importance of cognitive, management, socio-emotional, and STEM skills for thriving in today’s tech-enabled labour market.
Cognitive skills, including critical analysis, problem-solving, and innovative thinking, were rated as the most essential, both now and in the future.
Global Labour Market Conference is the only collaborative hub platform shaping the future of the global labour market through insights, ideas, trends, dialogue, knowledge sharing and the exchange of data on a continuous basis. It intends to spark innovative solutions to labour market challenges and empowering stakeholders to make well-informed decisions.
The second edition takes place in Riyadh’s King Abdulaziz International Convention Centre from January, 29-30, 2025.
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