Jobs and the Future of Work

AI and beyond: How every career can navigate the new tech landscape

Bright futures: Employees in all kinds of careers will benefit from reskilling as companies create a future-ready workforce.

Bright futures: Employees in all kinds of careers will benefit from reskilling as companies create a future-ready workforce. Image: iStockphoto/baramee2554

Valerie Singer
General Manager, Global Education, Amazon Web Services
Vishaal Gupta
President, Workforce Skills, Pearson
This article is part of: World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the nature of work, as well as the skills, competencies and mindsets employees need during their careers.
  • Reskilling and upskilling programmes focused on digital skills training can help employees develop tech literacy and embrace new technologies.
  • Collaboration by employers, educators and workers will help everyone embrace lifelong learning opportunities to create a future-ready workforce.

This year marks the midpoint in a decade that has bonded the world in unprecedented ways.

Advanced technologies, including generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), are accelerating and enhancing our ability to connect. As technology adapts, so does the nature of work – and the skills, competencies and mindsets that employees will need at all stages of their careers.

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Policy-makers, educational institutions and employers recognize that the definition of a “tech job” has changed. All job roles now require some degree of tech literacy, and the adaptability to embrace and adopt new technologies. The future of work will see employers use GenAI to enhance human potential by automating repeatable tasks, reclaiming employee time for more complex, higher-value activities.

But questions remain: What skills do we need for a future-ready workforce? And what steps should we take now to ensure we’re prepared?

Anticipating the changing nature of work

An Access Partnership and Amazon Web Services (AWS) survey of over 6,500 employees and 2,000 employers in France, Germany, Spain and the UK found that 86% of employers anticipate their organizations will be driven by AI by 2028. Further, 80% of employees plan to use GenAI tools in the next five years.

On the other hand, at least half of American college students incorporate GenAI into their academic work compared to just 22% of faculty, although the adoption rate for both groups is growing. Still, more than 90% of teachers have never received any training or advice on how to use GenAI in school.

In its Skills Outlook: Reclaim the Clock report, Pearson identifies tasks that offer the greatest opportunity for automation with GenAI by 2026 in the US, UK, Australia, India and Brazil. One universal finding was that automation could help reclaim time spent “maintaining current knowledge in area of expertise”, such as when employees must prepare for critical professional examinations.

In four countries, “developing educational programmes, plans or procedures” ranked high in potential time reclaimed per week – especially for educators. This was estimated at 665,000 reclaimed hours in the UK, 339,000 hours in Brazil and 233,000 hours in Australia.

Brazil’s SOMOS Educação offers a learning management system that supports more than 134,000 teachers by generating personalized lesson plans, summarizing content and creating new activities and assessments. This lesson planning automation helps teachers save up to 20 hours per month, giving them more time to engage creatively on student projects and provide individual mentorship. More than two million students have already benefitted from increased teacher engagement as a result.

Role redesign, reskilling and transferrable skills

The transformative potential of AI in the workplace depends not just on the sophistication of the technology, but also on the human skills and attitudes that enable its success. Technology is reshaping roles across industries — not by replacing workers, but by evolving tasks to leverage AI’s efficiencies.

As routine activities become automated, employers should redesign roles to focus on work that only humans can do. This would drive creativity, problem-solving and innovation. Employers must understand the tasks within each role and the skills required to perform those tasks effectively in order to thrive.

Curriculum Associates is a US education technology company that brings personalized, evidence-based learning to primary and secondary education institutions. It has built a proof of concept on AWS that uses AI alongside human expertise to streamline the onerous process of aligning and integrating assessment taxonomies. This process now enables the company to work 3-5 times faster, allowing subject matter experts to redirect their resources and talents to developing more valuable educational tools.

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Pearson’s Skills Outlook: Power Skills research underscores that human skills such as communication, attention to detail and leadership remain in high demand among employers. These skills complement AI’s capabilities and are transferable across roles and industries. While AI excels at data processing, it falls short in areas like judgment, intuition and cultural awareness.

Employers can approach reskilling by embracing a balanced, skills-based strategy, identifying future-ready skills, offering tailored training programmes and leveraging tools like digital credentials to track and validate progress. Businesses can also empower their workforce to adapt to changing demands and reduce redundancy by creating clear pathways for employees to upskill or reskill.

This skills-based approach allows employers to build a workforce that is more adaptable and purpose-driven. This empowers employees to focus on the work they are most passionate about, while ensuring AI solutions remain ethical and effective.

Reframing tech talent shortages

Employers have the chance to use the evolving workplace to turn tech talent shortages into a strategic advantage. By identifying future skill needs, automating repetitive tasks and providing learning opportunities tied to clear career outcomes, organizations can help their employees thrive. With 74% of workers preferring to learn through their employer, investing in employee development strengthens business performance, boosts workforce mobility and builds loyalty.

Building these tech skills into the workforce requires collaboration that extends beyond employers. Educators design curricula that combine technical expertise with essential human skills, preparing students for jobs increasingly shaped by technology.

Higher education is rapidly evolving, driven by innovations like personalized digital learning experiences, which blend the best of technology with interpersonal skills nurtured in the classroom. Workers, too, must embrace lifelong learning to remain competitive and take advantage of flexible upskilling and reskilling options like certifications, digital badges and on-the-job training.

Employers can also consider other collaborations, like the Skills to Jobs Tech Alliance. This global effort led by AWS aims to modernize technology education programmes, enrich curricula and build new talent pipelines that address the growing tech and soft skills gaps. Since 2023, the governments, higher education institutions, business conveners and employers in the Tech Alliance have connected over 57,000 learners to more than 650 employers, and integrated industry expertise into 1,050 education programmes.

As technological disruption accelerates, collaboration among employers, educators and workers remains essential. By embracing continuous learning and innovation, organizations and individuals can adapt to change and build the resiliency that makes them better equipped for the future of work.

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