Jobs and the Future of Work

Why skills are keeping CEOs awake at night

Employees of multinational headhunter Korn/Ferry work at the headquarters office of the company in Caracas August 3, 2015.

Technological changes mean new skill sets are needed. Image: REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Sean Fleming
Senior Writer, Forum Agenda

Ask chief executives from anywhere in the world what keeps them awake at night, and one response you’re likely to hear is: “skills”.

Without the right competencies, innovation and customer service suffer, with 79% of global CEOs saying they’re ‘extremely’ or ‘somewhat’ concerned about the availability of the right capabilities, according to PwC’s report, Talent Trends 2019: Upskilling for a digital world.

Have you read?

Competition to attract high-skilled workers is also likely to drive up labour costs.

Graph shows rise in concern about skills since 2011
Concern over skills has grown as automation has become more prevalent. Image: PwC Talent Trends Report

Among business leaders, worries like this are increasing as the spread of automation and artificial intelligence remould the working landscape.

The Internet of Things, machine learning, and other technologies are changing the face of employment. In its 2018 Future of Jobs Report, the World Economic Forum calls on businesses to “take an active role in supporting their existing workforces through reskilling and upskilling.”

Bar chart shows the main impacts on companies from a lack of skills.
Innovation, growth, and customer experience – all at risk. Image: PwC Talent Trends Report

Hiring staff with relevant skills, but without direct industry experience, is one option to plug short-term gaps.

The PwC report finds employees favourably disposed to retraining. That attitude could be increasingly important as companies navigate multiple waves of technology-driven change.

Bar chart shows what CEOs consider are the best ways to close a skills gap.
New talent pools are appealing but reskilling is the priority. Image: PwC Talent Trends Report

Even so, “business leaders can’t protect outmoded jobs,” the report says.

As for what happens to those displaced by AI and automation, just over half of CEOs said taking care of those workers should be a government responsibility. There’s also significant variation between regions – in China, 85% of CEOs believe governments should provide a financial safety net, while in the US, only 28% expressed that view.

“CEOs must negotiate this risk-fraught workplace revolution under a watchful public eye,” the report says. “No one should underestimate the scale and difficulty of the transition that’s underway.”

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Education, Gender and Work

Related topics:
Jobs and the Future of WorkLeadership
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Education, Gender and Work is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

Equitable AI skilling can help solve talent scarcity – this is what leaders can do

Sander van 't Noordende

December 5, 2024

2:35

5 lessons on GenAI in the workplace from early adopters

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum