Revealed: 10 highest-growth job roles of tomorrow

The Covid-19 crisis disrupted economies and organisations, with layoffs and furloughs experienced across the world. The impact on jobs “has been much worse than expected initially”, the head of the UN labour agency said last year. Between December 2019 and April 2020, total hours worked fell significantly in most countries, ranging from a staggering 46 per cent in Mexico to around 10 per cent in Australia, a paper by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the OECD found. The fall was “considerably greater” on average (more than six times) than the decline which occurred during the global financial crisis, the report added.

But while the situation is improving, the pandemic also changed ways of operating. Remote working has become more commonplace, with artificial intelligence and automation now becoming more mainstream across industries. But while new technologies are anticipated to make many job roles redundant, they are also expected to create several new roles and positions.

In such a scenario, professionals are looking to reskill and upskill themselves so that they can land themselves future jobs. It is key they understand the best degrees for future jobs – primarily the top technology jobs of the future. But what are the careers of tomorrow going to look like? Is there a future jobs list that offers more clarity?

Just seven emerging professional clusters will account for 6.1 million opportunities globally in 2020–2022, according to the Jobs of Tomorrow report released by the World Economic Forum last year.

According to these assumptions, over the coming three years, 37 per cent of projected job opportunities in emerging professions will be in the Care Economy; 17 per cent in Sales, Marketing and Content; 16 per cent in Data and AI; 12 per cent in Engineering and Cloud Computing; and 8 per cent in People and Culture.

The other two clusters that will see growth include Green Economy and Product Development, according to the WEF report.

The highest-growth jobs of tomorrow span all seven profession clusters. “Growth in these clusters and jobs is largest among care roles and smallest among green professions,” it stated.

The report also identified 10 specific roles that are expected to see the sharpest growth spikes. They include:

Artificial intelligence specialists
The role of an AI specialist is mainly aimed at programming computers to comprehend situations and test hypotheses related to how the human mind works, through cognitive simulation.

Medical transcriptionists
These professionals transcribe voice recordings done by doctors and other healthcare practitioners and converts them into written reports. A transcriptionist may also edit medical documents and interpret medical abbreviations.

Data scientists
Data scientists gather, analyse and interpret big data to create actionable plans for organisations. The role combines the use of mathematics, statistics and computer science.

Customer success specialists
As the name suggests, a customer success specialist focusses on driving business through effective customer service, relationship retention and optimisation across different sectors.

Full stack engineers
A web developer/engineer who can handle all the projects involving databases, servers, building websites, systems engineering, and work with clients to execute them.

Landfill biogas generation system technicians
A landfill gas technician is a specialist who can repair landfill gas flares and pumps, take readings and conduct inspections of gas systems.

Social media assistants
With the rise in social media adoption worldwide, the need for marketing professionals who can monitor social media presence and create relevant campaigns has grown.

Wind turbine service technicians
As wind turbines are set up across the world in response to the move towards sustainability, they require service technicians to maintain the equipment. The role covers repairing, inspecting and diagnosing malfunctions for wind turbines.

Green marketers
These professionals focus on marketing products and services that are environmentally friendly and create ‘green’ campaigns and strategies.

Growth hackers
Another job role that combines a mix of practices, growth hackers work with marketing, data and technology to create processes to accelerate customer growth. They are commonly deployed by startups seeking massive growth with smaller budgets.

While those are the main trends, how is the world of work in the region set to evolve? With a plethora of AI-related educational programmes being introduced across the GCC, are skill sets related to machine learning set to become the most in-demand and most-valued professions? What are the positions that regional companies are looking to fill as they seek to become tech hubs of the future?

Topics such as the impact of technology on the future workforce and how professionals, businesses and governments in the region and across the world can prepare for it, are among the several themes that will be discussed at LEAP, the upcoming global tech event in Saudi Arabia.

The event will see the ways and means by which the jobs of tomorrow will become reality and the opportunities that they will bring about. Featuring talks and insightful sessions from leaders and futurists delving deep into the tech revolution, the event will provide clarity on trends set to reshape the world.

“The type of opportunities that are set to materialise are changing fast, in tandem with the evolving needs of the technological and economic context—demanding pragmatic and effective mechanisms to support workers’ transitions to the new opportunities that lie ahead,” the WEF report stated.

While the shift to technology-driven economies has been underway, the Covid-19 pandemic has further accelerated the pace of change in recent months, making it imperative for professionals of today to understand the jobs of tomorrow. What LEAP aims to do, is to provide some of those answers.