Self-described “learning company” Pearson teamed up with researchers at the innovation foundation Nesta and the Oxford Martin School at Oxford University, producing a report addressing the fears associated with technologically-driven unemployment. The study, titled, “The Future of Skills: Employment in 2030”, forecasts skill demand and employment in the U.S. and U.K. based on human expertise combined with machine learning which yielded a more optimistic view of employment trends.
The study found that only one in five workers exist in fields likely to decline through 2030. While one in ten workers are expected to have a rise in demand for their job, the study found 70% of workers have uncertainty for the future, with potentially better prospects if they invest in the right skills. These skills include management, administration, philosophy, history, and English language, while technology design, science, and other STEM-related areas will only be useful in certain occupations.
Within both the U.S. and U.K., growth is forecasted in health care, education, engineering, digital, design, and creative fields, although health care industry growth in the U.S. is lower than expected. Transportation and traditional manufacturing jobs were forecasted to decline. In the U.S., jobs like social sciences, legal professions, and animal care are likely to have increased demand, while the U.K. has forecasted rises in natural and social sciences, public service jobs, and food and hospitality.
“Today many are concerned that jobs face a period of sustained disruption – not only as a result of automation but also globalization, demographic and environmental change and political uncertainty,” said Philippe Schneider, a researcher and co-author of the study. “Thinking systematically about these trends cannot give conclusive answers on what is around the corner, but it can provide clues and challenge imaginations as we design policies to improve the adaptability and employability of our workforces.”
