The fastest-growing jobs globally are in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, networks, cybersecurity, and technological literacy, according to the World Economic Forum.
The Future of Jobs Report 2025 says jobs like Big Data specialists, fintech engineers, AI and Machine Learning specialists and software and application developers will be in more demand than others over the next five years.
The report is a collection of the views of over 1,000 leading global employers representing more than 14 million workers across 22 industry clusters and 55 economies from around the world.
As technology continues to transform the employment landscape and create opportunities, experts say AI and information processing, robotics, and automation will drive the growth of jobs.
Essential Skills for the Future Workforce: Tech and Human
Additional human-centered skills like creative thinking, resilience, leadership flexibility, and agility, alongside curiosity and lifelong learning, are also expected to grow in importance between 2025 and 2030.
On the other hand, manual dexterity, endurance, and precision will decrease in importance as technology compensates for human weaknesses and man-made errors. Still, jobs considered manual, such as farm work, deliveries, construction, sales, and food processing, are predicted to see the largest growth.
Care economy jobs, such as nurses, social workers, counsellors, personal care and tertiary and secondary school teachers, are also expected to grow.
Broadening digital access is expected to be the most transformative trend over the next five years, with 60 per cent of the employers surveyed expecting it to transform their business. The other significant trends are advancements in technologies, particularly AI and information processing, robotics and automation, and energy generation, storage, and distribution.
“These trends are expected to have a divergent effect on jobs, driving both the fastest-growing and fastest-declining roles, fueling demand for technology-related skills,” the report concludes.
From the surveys, the authors of the report concluded that upskilling and reskilling—training—of the workforce will remain important.
“If the world’s workforce were made up of 100 people, 59 would need training by 2030,” the authors say.
Of the 59 that would need training, 29 could be trained while still in their current roles, 19 could be trained and redeployed elsewhere within their organisation, but 11 would be unlikely to receive the training they need and would lose their jobs.
The report further points out that workers can expect that two-fifths (39 per cent) of their skill set will change, meaning they will be transformed or become outdated between the 2025-2030 period. And by 2030, 170 million jobs will have been created.
The main drivers of these jobs are technological change, geoeconomic fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts and the green transition, which will significantly shape and transform the global labour market.
Locally, the increased demand for technology professionals is also increasingly evident, sparking a war for talent amongst technology and telecommunication companies in Kenya.
Safaricom’s AI and Upskilling Initiatives
At Safaricom, which is working to become a leading technology company in Africa, AI and Machine Learning have been in use for more than five years, helping develop products, analyse data and better understand its customers.
The company has also used big data AI tools to automate processes, drive efficiency and enable data-driven decision-making.
Safaricom is also engaged in upskilling and reskilling its workforce.
Upon realising that more of its staff needed to embrace AI, Safaricom rolled out the One More Skill initiative in 2021, which was later improved and named 2 + 1 More Skill in March 2024. This is in line with the company’s shift from being a conventional telco to evolving into a purpose-led technology company.
The 2 + 1 More Skill programme has allowed Safaricom to reskill, upskill and multiskill its staff’s capabilities.
After benchmarking with global technology companies, Safaricom identified 13 digital skills that could equip its workforce with skills that can help the company accelerate its mission of becoming a techno by 2030. The 2 + 1 More Skill means employees pick two digital skills and one functional skill (which can also be digital) to learn out of the 13 that were identified. The employees apply the skills they have learnt in their day-to-day jobs, including participating in AI hackathons.
“The Fourth Industrial Revolution demands a workforce equipped with both technical expertise and human-centred skills. At Safaricom, we have put in place transformative learning programs that emphasise acquiring and applying future tech skills. Through such initiatives, 100% of our employees have become certified in AI and other emerging technologies, positioning Safaricom as a leader in cultivating tech-savvy talent in Africa,” said Florence Nyokabi, Safaricom’s Chief Human Resources Officer.
The Future of Jobs Report 2025’s conclusions on jobs could frighten some and drive the fear that AI could push people out of work.
“Half of employers plan to reorient their business in response to AI, two-thirds plan to hire talent with specific AI skills, while 40 per cent anticipate reducing their workforce where AI can automate tasks,” the report concludes.
This story originally appeared on https://newsroom.safaricom.co.ke/ on 04 Feb 2025.
