A recent report form the World Economic Forum (WEF) asserts that ‘urgent investment in human capital is needed’ to equip people with the skills and capabilities required to future-proof their careers.

The WEF estimate that 1.1 billion jobs are liable to be radically transformed by technology in the next decade, with the Future of Jobs Report 2023 indicating that 23% of work tasks will be automated by 2027.

In the WEF’s Putting Skills First: A Framework for Action paper, it is estimated that 101 million people stand to benefit from a ‘skills first’ approach to talent management, characterised by focusing directly on an individual’s skills and competencies, which would support closing the talent gaps that exist in organisations worldwide.

The report noted that ‘if current trends continue, outdated leaning programmes will further exacerbate the skills mismatch in the future’. With only 0.5% of global GDP being invested in lifelong learning, a collaborative report with the PwC has estimated that ‘investment in reskilling and upskilling of the current global workforce has the potential to boost GDP by $6.5 trillion by 2030’.

Commenting on the initiative, Jonas Prising, CEO at ManpowerGroup, said:

“Organisations have to act differently. Creating shareholder value can only be done in conjunction with taking care of employees, customers and communities. And that includes the responsibility to help people learn new skills, adapt for future jobs and to become creators of talent.”

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