Italy is currently undergoing significant processes of digital transformation and automation. Technological innovation and the related qualification of human capital are two inseparable dimensions on which companies must necessarily set their adaptation and development strategy.
With the pandemic, the world of work also seems to have changed, and the resulting acceleration toward innovation and the adoption of new technologies has highlighted the need to develop new skills, especially digital skills, to retrain workers and respond to the lack of new skills in the market.
According to the Esi (European Skills Index) in 2020 Italy ranks 25th out of 31 countries for skills matching, that is for the ability to match the right skills to the right position, and last place for skills activation, that is, skills useful for transition into the world of work.
We will thus witness a labor market increasingly marked by hyper-skilled professionals and increasingly vertical skills; this will generate on a global scale tens of millions of new jobs while simultaneously retiring some obsolete professions.
Therefore, in order to offer a concise overview of what will be waiting for us in the future, I will list both recent occupations, which have been on the market for only a few years but are among the most in demand, and occupations that are still "unknown" but will be relevant in the near future.
Let us begin ... let this short journey into the "Future" begin!
Strategic skills required by the market
It is important to highlight what can be seen as the three types of strategic skills required by the market, in which it will be worth investing in the future.
Interpersonal skills
Also referred to as Soft Skill, we mean all those attitudes and skills that are not related to a particular profession but to an individual's personal abilities in being able to deal with problems and effectively manage possible difficulties: specifically we are talking about problem solving skills, managerial flexibility, result orientation, optimization of collective energies, and the ability to evaluate and make decisions.
Cognitive skills
These are all those skills through which an individual perceives, records, maintains, retrieves, manipulates, uses and expresses information. These skills are involved in any task we face, from the simplest to the most complex: planning skills, aptitude for analysis and synthesis, hierarchical organization of information and priorities, customer and person orientation, and validation of results.
System competencies
Also referred to as Hard Skill, essential to qualify a future employee: broad basic culture, advanced language skills, specialized vertical educational experience, and professional background useful for technical or managerial management of technology and digital systems.
But let's try to outline possible scenarios.
What are the 10 strategic evolutionary factors
- The arc of each life will run between at least two or three different trades
- Many of these jobs do not exist today, while some current professions are destined to disappear
- The key to the future will be adaptability, because in the global market everything changes dicontinuously
- The market trend is toward ever-increasing specialization: findingan area in which to specialize, therefore, is the key to success.
- Artificial intelligence and automation are transforming the world of work. The evolutions and major trends on a 10-20 year timeline predict the "technological centrality"
- By 2030, robots will replace about 800 million jobs worldwide in manual, physical, repetitive, automatable jobs
- For every old job that disappears there is a new one created.
- Because of the misalignment between traditional university systems and professional evolution, most jobs of the future will not require a college education
- Lack of consistency between supply and demand due to a lack of training in theprofessions of the future
- The three main job "commodities" will be: speaking at least English very well,knowing new technologies and being able to read a budget
What will be the most in-demand professions in the future
There are many highly evolving occupational figures, some of which are already present but are characterized by an extremely dynamic evolutionary charge that portends that they will occupy a prominent role in the labor market. Below are some of the occupational figures that will prove to be among the most in demand through 2030:
Artificial intelligence specialist
Artificial intelligence is the area of computer science devoted to creating intelligent machines that work and react like humans. In the past five years, the demand for these specialists has grown by 74 percent.
Cybersecurity Expert
Cyber security expert, tasked with preventing cyber threats, calculating their risks, mitigating the effects of attacks and intrusion into sensitive data. He has experienced 30 percent growth.
Broadband Architect
He is the spokesperson for a new era because he is knowledgeable about the latest network innovations in terms of formats, applications, and useful tools for online information and communication.
Category Manager
It is concerned with a certain category of products, from their purchase to their sale, with the nail in the coffin of maximizing the sales of the category.
Cloud Architect
Designs and builds cloud environments that fit an enterprise's business needs as closely as possible. Helps manage the digital transformation process of enterprises.
Energy Manager
The strength of the energy manager is the ability to dialogue with the operational structure and senior management. His or her goal? To bring to life a real corporate energy optimization policy.
Growth Hacker
He is responsible for devising and developing growth strategies for his company. Using computer engineering, marketing and social media communication.
Plant Manager
The plant manager is responsible for monitoring the operation of company plants. A figure of great responsibility that ensures companies' efficiency and high productivity.
Scrum Master
Part PM, part talent scout: the Scrum Master is a supervisor who does not have leadership roles, but rather coordination roles to increase the development efficiency of a project.
Among the most relevant future job figures will certainly feature the Blockchain Specialist, ranked number one among emerging jobs in the LinkedIn 2020 report.
A tremendously growing field of technology, which by 2025 will have an estimated economic value of one trillion (trillion!) dollars and involve up to 65 million workers!
Blockchian professional specializations
This market will give rise to various types of professional specializations in blockchain:
Blockchain Information Security Analyst
Expert in blockchain and cryptography, preventing and countering threats to the technology's impenetrability
Blockchain Data Analyst
Blockchain and big data integrator
Blockchain Developer
Expert in writing code and building data structures for blockchains
Blockchain Designer
Designer of sites, portals, and web platforms with features that integrate blockchain applications
Blockchain Engineer
Responsible for creating and implementing digital solutions for companies using blockchain
Blockchain Quality Engineer
Responsible for quality in the development environment, framework, automation testing, manual testing and dashboards
Blockchain Marketing Specialist
Develop marketing plans, market research, social and media strategy development using blockchain
Blockchain Project Manager
Create blockchain applications tasked with planning and overseeing project execution
Specialist Blockchain Recruiter
Analyze and evaluate a candidate's blockchain skills
Blockchain Lawyer
Expert inSmartcontract,ICO GDPR,esuiproblemmilegalrelativetoblockchainedprojectsin the fintech field.
Numerous jobs of the future will also emerge as an expression of ongoing strategic changes, responding to new needs and presiding over new areas of business. As a result, many "traditional" figures will be destined to disappear or downsize dramatically. In fact, 49% of the activities that exist in the world today and are performed by humans will eventually be automated.
According to the MCKinsey report, roughly half of the workers currently employed could be safely replaced by robots.
This is true even in Italy, where the replacement rate would be around 49/51 percent, meaning 11 million people may have to give way in the next few years to a machine, especially those whose work is characterized by simplicity and repetitiveness: the cashier, replaced by automated checkouts; order takers, replaced by tablets; travel agents, replaced by virtual internet operators; drivers, replaced by self-driving cars; financial advisers, replaced by algorithms for managing financial portfolios; industrial production technicians, replaced by 3D printers ... and so on: The lumberjack, the meter reader, the letter carrier, the printer, the telemarketer, the military pilot ... and many more!
What will be the professional figures of the future?
At the same time, new types of jobs will emerge. What, then, will be the professional figures of the future(which we have probably never heard of yet) ?
Data Detective
It analyzes a company's organizational data, processes responses based on information generated by Internet of Things (IoT) endpoints, devices, sensors, biometric monitors, traditional IT infrastructure, mesh, edge, and next-generation neural networks.
Ethical Sourcing Officer
It helps the company achieve its ethical goals, i.e., social responsibility and sustainability, in relation to the company's supplies (energy, components, machinery, raw materials, ...) that are used for the production or development of its business.
Master of Edge Computing
This is the professional profile of excellence in edge computing and Internet of Things technologies. He/she will be responsible for the creation, maintenance and protection of the 'edge' computing environment.
Walker/Talker
It is the figure who, thanks to an Uber-like connection platform, responds to people's requests for companionship or conversation, such as the elderly who feel lonely and want to talk and be heard.
Wellness Commitment Counselor
He is the remote personal trainer who can regularly provide coaching and counseling sessions to improve a person's well-being and track his progress through the use of werables.
Genomic Portfolio Director
Management profile in a biotechnology company, specifically active in gene editing with a synthesis role between the commercial and product development sides.
Chief Trust Officer
This professional will work in traditional and cryptocurrency trading firms with responsibility for ensuring transparency and adherence to regulations.
Personal Data Broker
Is data the new oil? Well, personal data brokers will engage in data exchanges, data marketing, on behalf of clients, while also inventing new ways to make good money from it.
Personal Memory Curator
A personal memory curator would help elderly clients combat memory loss by reconstructing parts of this memory in virtual environments for these people to 'live'.
Augmented Reality Journey Builder Tour Operator
Somewhere between the technical and the artistic, he designs and oversees the creation of the next generation of 'virtual travel,' those made with Augmented Reality.
Highway Controller
Self-driving cars, drones, flying cabs will be part of traffic. It is the new "urban vigilante," communicating with the city's space control center, monitoring automatic road and air space management systems.
Cyber City Analyst
A cyber city analyst ensures the safety, security, and functionality of a city in its digital aspects by ensuring a constant flow of data and keeping all technical equipment up and running.
Digital Taylor
Digital tailors will go to retail customers' homes (or to their offices) to perfect the fit and finish of their clothes ordered through e-commerce.
And yet ...
Body Part Maker
Will produce limbs or tissues in the laboratory to reconstruct the human body
Nano-Medical
Will create micro-plants to monitor the health or self-medicate patients
Bioinformationist
Scientist who will combine genetics with drug development and clinical therapies
Geomicrobiologist
Will study how microorganisms can give new drugs or fight pollution
Cloud Controller
It will test the ability of clouds above our heads to reflect solar radiation
Technological Recycler
Will be in charge of disposing or recycling disused technology
Vertical Farmer
Will curate crops on multi-story buildings in the city to reduce land use
Time Broker
It will deal with how to pay people with time instead of money.
The jobs of the future will certainly have a positive impact on people's lives. The most in-demand new professions therefore give us a great responsibility: the chance to make a concrete contribution to the world we live in, leaving it better than we found it.
We live in ever-changing times, full of threats but also multiple exciting opportunities. We inhabit a world in which continuous discoveries and innovations alternate and integrate, trends change rapidly, and major new scenarios emerge painting new realities.
It is up to us to figure out how to adapt to change and be key players in the future.
Romolo De Stefano
President of Ateneo Impresa Foundation; The Blockchain Management School; The Artificial Intelligence School