The functions that will be most valued in the future of the labor market, will be those that, directly or indirectly, are linked to technologies and the information society. The digital transformation, present in our daily lives in practically all products and services, will have an impact on the future of professions worldwide.
Index
Pandemic and Digital Transformation
The global recession in 2020, caused by confinement during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, accelerates the adoption of automation and e-commerce technologies.
There will be an expansion of remote work with an impact on the well-being and quality of life of workers, which may exacerbate existing inequalities if there is no proactive effort by the community.
With the increase in scientific knowledge and technologies in the health area, in a few decades we have achieved a much higher life expectancy.
It is expected that it will be possible that we will not have to travel to a hospital or health center to make a clinical evaluation.
With the clinical information of people, available in health systems and with appropriate artificial intelligence algorithms, the most appropriate diagnosis and treatment can come to be administered autonomously.
But also, with the increase in the average age of the population, the area of health and well-being is one of the areas with strong growth potential.
The future professionals in this area will thus be doctors, nurses, caregivers, physiotherapists, geneticists, mental health specialists, walker talkers and biological engineers and hospital technicians, among others.
The “Green Economy” will also be more relevant. Environmental engineering and specialties linked to the impact of climate change, face challenges to reconcile technology with the environment, alternative and renewable energies, waste management and drinking water supply, which will be scarce in Portugal.
The Future of the Professions, 2020-2025
The October 2020 report “The Future of Jobs” by the World Economic Forum, points to a set of professions in the world, as being the most in demand in the future,
- Ecommerce Specialist
- Application developers
- Data analysts and scientists
- Social network specialists
- Specialists in digital marketing and sales
- Strategy advisers
- Innovation managers
- Organizational development professionals
- Programmers and site managers
- Big data experts
- Specialists in artificial intelligence and machine learning
- Specialists in virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D printing
- 3D engineers and architects
- Talent managers
- Computer engineers
- Cyber security professionals
- Experts in cyberspace law and ethics
- Process automation analysts
- Robotics engineers
- Project managers,
- Nanotechnology specialists,
- Digital transformation experts
- Professionals in databases and networks
- Blockchain experts
Blockchain technology, still much discussed and controversial in ethical and political aspects, is based on the creation of cryptocurrencies (bitcoins, etherium, litecoin, among others).
This technology implies a paradigm shift, from the centralized data storage in an entity to a chain of computational resources that share and validate the information.
Don and Alex Tapscott believe that these technologies allow safe monetary transactions and are the beginning of a new cycle of “Internet of Value”(IoV) an evolution of the Internet of Information (IoI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).
In addition to the technical knowledge of soft skils, skills are required to think critically and innovatively, "thinking skills", and to know and learn continuously about digital techniques, "digital skills".
Jeanne C. Meister considers that these are the new “power skills”, skills needed for the future of professions and workers.
The Human Factor in the Future of Professions in the World
There are health-related functions where human contact is required to be done with sensitivity and affection, which is difficult to replace with the technology of robots and artificial intelligence.
There are very difficult capacities to be replaced by robotization.
Creativity, initiative, leadership, resilience, service orientation (customer or result), negotiation skills, analytical and critical thinking, complex problem solving, digital literacy, people management, planning and coordination, emotional intelligence, judgment skills, thinking strategic, cognitive flexibility, driving change, logical reasoning, communication and collaboration skills, as well as the ability to work as a team, will be increasingly needed.
Each, per se, will have to be able to manage their own development to be able to actively learn, using the training resources available globally.
Companies also have to adapt and create conditions for their employees to evolve in knowledge and progress professionally.
In order to have more opportunities for evolution, workers must constantly be learning, gaining new experiences and without fear of the challenges of change.
See too
- What are the soft skills most sought by recruiters
- Higher courses with more employability in Portugal in 2020
- The most sought after professions in Portugal and wages in 2020
- Health insurance, which will be the best?
- Health insurance and the health plan for seniors
- How to create the digital mobile key
The Future of Jobs Report October 2020 World Economic Forum
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