World in Numbers: Jobs and Tasks / DAVOS 2025

Summary

This discussion focused on the future of work over the next five years, highlighting technological change and its impact on job markets and skills. Nela Richardson from ADP and Andrew Ng, an AI expert, presented insights from the Future of Jobs report and their own research.

The speakers identified five key drivers shaping the labor market: technological change, green transition, geographic fragmentation, demographic shifts, and economic uncertainty. They emphasized that two-fifths of core skills are expected to change in the next five years, with a growing demand for both tech-related skills and soft skills like resilience and creativity.

The discussion revealed a disconnect between employer and employee priorities, particularly regarding workplace flexibility and career advancement. Only 24% of the global workforce feels prepared to advance their careers in the next three years, highlighting a significant skills gap.

Andrew Ng stressed the importance of coding and AI skills for future employability, predicting that people who understand AI will have a significant advantage in the job market. He emphasized that AI won’t necessarily take jobs, but will dramatically increase employee productivity when used effectively.

The speakers also addressed concerns about AI potentially degrading certain skills while enhancing others. They concluded that while some skills may become obsolete, new ones will emerge, and human skills like creativity and collaboration will remain crucial.

Overall, the discussion underscored the need for continuous upskilling and adaptation to technological changes in the workforce, with both employers and employees needing to invest in developing relevant skills for the future job market.

Keypoints

Major discussion points:

– The future of work over the next 5 years, driven by technological change, demographic shifts, and other megatrends

– The growing importance of both technical skills (AI, coding) and soft skills (creativity, adaptability) in the workforce

– The mismatch between what workers value (flexibility, career advancement) and what employers prioritize

– The need for upskilling and reskilling workers to prepare for future job demands

– The potential for AI to dramatically increase worker productivity, while also changing required skill sets

Overall purpose:

The goal of this discussion was to examine key trends shaping the future of work, based on recent research, and explore how both workers and employers can prepare for coming changes, particularly related to technology and AI.

Tone:

The overall tone was informative and analytical, with the speakers presenting data and insights in a professional manner. There was also an element of urgency, particularly when discussing the need for workers and companies to adapt to coming changes. The tone became slightly more casual and conversational during the Q&A portion at the end.

Speakers

– Nela Richardson: Chief Economist of ADP and Head of ADP Research

– Andrew Ng: Founder of Deep Learning AI, Inc.

– Audience: Multiple unnamed audience members asking questions

Additional speakers:

– None identified

The Future of Work: Navigating Technological Change and Skills Development

This comprehensive discussion, featuring Nela Richardson, Chief Economist of ADP, and Andrew Ng, Founder of Deep Learning AI, Inc., explored the future of work over the next five years. The speakers drew insights from the Future of Jobs report, which surveyed 1,000 global employers representing 14 million workers in 22 industries and over 50 countries, as well as ADP’s own research survey of 38,000 workers in 34 economies.

Key Drivers Shaping the Labour Market

Nela Richardson identified five crucial factors influencing the future of work:

1. Technological change and the digital environment (e.g., AI, automation)

2. Green transition and carbon emission reduction efforts

3. Geographic fragmentation affecting supply chains (e.g., nearshoring, friendshoring)

4. Demographic shifts in higher and lower income countries

5. Economic uncertainty (including inflation and recession concerns)

These drivers are collectively reshaping the labour market, necessitating significant adaptations from both employers and employees.

Skills Evolution and the Growing Skills Gap

A central theme of the discussion was the rapid evolution of required skills in the workforce. Richardson highlighted that two-fifths of core skills are expected to change in the next five years, underscoring the need for continuous learning and adaptation. This shift encompasses both technical skills, particularly in AI and coding, and soft skills such as resilience and creativity.

The speakers revealed concerning statistics: only 24% of the global workforce feels prepared to advance their careers in the next three years, and only 17% of workers feel strongly that their employers invest in the skills they need to advance. This highlights a significant skills gap that needs urgent attention from both employers and educational institutions.

The Importance of AI and Coding Skills

Andrew Ng emphasised the critical importance of AI and coding skills for future employability across various professions. He made a bold prediction, stating, “In the future, AI won’t take people’s jobs, but people that know AI will take the jobs of people that don’t.” This perspective reframes the common fear of AI replacing jobs, instead positioning AI skills as a competitive advantage in the job market.

Ng further stressed that coding skills would become essential even in traditionally non-technical roles. He provided examples of how non-software engineers could use coding to enhance their job functions:

– A journalist using web scraping to gather data for investigative reporting

– A finance professional using Python to automate financial modeling tasks

Ng outlined three buckets of coding:

1. Quick and dirty prototypes

2. Enterprise-grade software

3. Maintaining legacy codebases

He argued that AI-assisted coding provides significant productivity boosts, particularly for experts, while also making coding more accessible to novices.

The Role of AI in Productivity and Skill Development

Both speakers agreed that AI would dramatically increase employee productivity when used effectively. However, they also acknowledged that AI might degrade certain skills while enhancing or creating others. Richardson emphasised that human skills like creativity and collaboration would remain crucial, suggesting a balanced approach to skill development that combines technological proficiency with uniquely human capabilities.

Misalignment Between Employer and Employee Priorities

The discussion revealed a significant disconnect between what workers value and what employers prioritise. Richardson noted that while employees place high importance on workplace flexibility (ranking it as their top priority), employers often focus on different aspects, ranking flexibility only eighth in their priorities. This misalignment could potentially lead to challenges in employee satisfaction and retention.

The Importance of Upskilling and Education

Both speakers strongly advocated for continuous upskilling and education. Richardson pointed out that upskilling leads to significant wage increases, with an average 37% pay bump between skill levels. However, a concerning gender gap was revealed in wage gains from upskilling: 44% for men vs. 30% for women, and 44% vs. 15% for the most complex jobs.

Ng stressed the importance of businesses and individuals investing in upskilling to remain competitive in the future job market. He also advised parents to encourage their children to learn coding, suggesting resources like Scratch for younger children and Python for teenagers.

The speakers highlighted the value of on-the-job training for engagement and productivity, noting that upskilled workers tend to be more loyal and productive. They also discussed the inefficiency in education investment, which causes society to underinvest in early childhood education and adult worker upskilling.

Concerns and Challenges

The discussion addressed several concerns about the future of work, including:

1. The potential for AI to degrade certain skills while enhancing others

2. The need for workers to learn how to use AI effectively in their roles

3. The importance of adapting to technological changes

4. The gender gap in skills advancement and wage increases

5. The challenge of balancing remote work flexibility with on-site collaboration needs

6. Ensuring equitable access to upskilling opportunities across different geographic and economic regions

Audience Questions and Responses

The Q&A session provided additional insights:

– Ng clarified that while AI might not replace entire jobs, it could replace specific tasks within jobs.

– Both speakers emphasized the importance of continuous learning and adaptation to technological changes.

– They discussed the potential for AI to augment human capabilities rather than simply replacing them.

Conclusion

The discussion underscored the urgent need for continuous upskilling and adaptation to technological changes in the workforce. Both employers and employees must invest in developing relevant skills for the future job market, with a particular focus on AI and coding proficiency. However, the speakers also emphasised the enduring importance of human skills like creativity and collaboration. As the world of work continues to evolve, addressing the misalignment between employer and employee priorities and ensuring equitable access to skill development opportunities will be crucial for creating a resilient and productive workforce.

Nela Richardson: Good afternoon, everyone. I am so pleased to welcome you to this session, World in Numbers, Jobs and Tasks. I’m Neela Richardson. I’m Chief Economist of ADP and Head of ADP Research. And joining me today is Andrew Ng. We are both going to provide some thoughts and delve into the latest Future of Jobs report. Now, Andrew doesn’t need an introduction. He is founder of Deep Learning AI, Inc., and I’m so pleased to be able to do this session with you. So without further ado, let’s think and let’s talk about the world of work over the next five years. So in this era, in this new wave, we’re seeing technology drive the future of work. And not just technology, demographic change, meta trends, creating and destroying some jobs. But over time, we’re seeing not just job creation, but a change in the skill set. In fact, according to the Future of Jobs report, which surveyed 1,000 global employers and representing 14 million workers in 22 industries in over 50 countries, we’re seeing that two-fifths of core skills will change over the next five years. That’s a tremendous amount of change, but it’s not the fastest our skill sets have changed. In fact, the pandemic ushered in even faster change, but this is more sustainable. It’s not just about pandemic. It’s about technology and these other meta trends that will be ushering in a new way of working in the world. And so when we think about the five key drivers of the labor market, it starts with that first one, technological change and the broad access to the digital environment, which allows generative platforms like AI to take root in the workforce. The second trend, the green transition, with over half of global employers saying that they’re making key investments in lowering their carbon emissions. The third trend, geographic fragmentation. This is really important when you think about the supply chain and trade. The fourth trend, this one is the one that captures my attention, because what we’re seeing is two different trends at once. These demographic shifts that are hitting higher income countries and leading to a wave of retirement as the workforce ages is happening at the same time that in lower income countries, there has been a growth spurt in the prime age worker and how the world deals with this new globalization, the globalization of people, services, as well as trade in goods will define growth for the next five years. And then this final trend, economic uncertainty. It’s never gone. It’s always a part of how the world does business. But in a more complex world, that uncertainty grows, especially when you’re thinking about the first megatrend, technological change. And this leads to, again, a dichotomy in the growth that we’re seeing in terms of where the jobs are coming. Now, the first set of jobs in terms of the largest employment changes happen in those infrastructure jobs, those jobs on the front line of creating local economies. So you’re going to see an explosion of growth for farmers and laborers and agriculture, but also in delivery trucks and services, getting those goods to the locations that are needed. Of course, now technology is part of a country’s infrastructure, even for lower income countries. So growth in software and application developers also growth in construction workers and building that infrastructure, not just residential but data centers to support that growth in technology. And let’s not forget retail. As the middle class grows, so does the consumer base and so does the growth in shopkeepers. But also the fastest growing jobs, not necessarily the largest in employment, but the fastest in rate, big data specialists, all tied to the technology related roles, financial tech engineers, AI and machine learning specialists, software application developers, and let’s not forget about data security. Underneath all of this is the importance of data security in amplifying all the data and technology needs of the future. So it’s a combination when you think about the five megatrends that are driving the labor force over the next five years. It’s a combination of hard skills and soft skills. It’s a combination of people and tech. The global workforce doesn’t just want technology. They also need a skilled workforce who can innovate, who can think creatively and also work collaboratively. And so here are the key skills that global employers are saying that they need. The first three are tech related, AI and big data skills. No surprise there if you’re thinking about a technologically advanced future, technological literacy, networks and cyber security. But think of the people skills also require that human connection when it comes to resilience, flexibility, agility, the ability to think creatively, to be a lifelong learner. It’s only through a skilled workforce where the promise and passion of AI really amplifies the human condition and raises the standard of living for all. Next slide. And so in this world where you’re seeing the need for skills and the skills opportunity, you must also realize that it’s important that the workforce is upskilled and that it’s upskilled in a way that meets the needs of the global business community. And those needs are really important when it comes to those who are left behind. The future of jobs report says that a segment leading to 120 million people may not receive the skills that they need to advance in the world. And we know that these skills are not widespread. The skills gap there are in lower income countries. So there is a need to match where the workforce is growing with where the skills needs are. And that gap is critical to close in the future. So if we go to the next slide. ADP was so excited to partner with the World Economic Forum and really understanding the worker perspective so that we can think about how to close these skill gaps. And what we did is we matched worker sentiment with the employer sentiment from the future of jobs report. And what we have mapped out here for you is what workers find valuable and what employers find valuable. And let me give you the takeaway up front. They don’t always match. So at ADP Research, we… Yeah, not a big surprise. ADP Research, we actually surveyed the global workforce. 38,000 people in 34 economies around the world. And what we found is what workers really, really value is career advancement. So you can see there’s alignment in that dark blue for employees and the turquoise color for employers when it comes to improving talent progression and promoting the skills process. There’s also a lot of alignment not shown here in wages. Now, it’s no surprise that workers want higher wages. Anyone surprised by that? No. But employers actually want to see wage growth too because wage growth is tied to productivity and they know that they need a productive workforce to operate in the new world. But there are also places of misalignment. And where we see those places is what workers value most coming out of the pandemic. Anyone want to wager a guess quickly? Flexibility. It’s flexibility. And the ability to maintain their own schedules. That’s number one for the global workforce. It’s only number eight for employers. Now, one of the things that I think is really beneficial coming out of the pandemic is that global employers recognize the importance of a healthy workforce to have a thriving business. And you see in their survey responses from the Future of Jobs report that the global employer base still cares about the worker. They still want to prioritize supporting employee health and wellbeing. The disconnect is that the workforce kind of moved on from that. They only value that support from their employer at number eight. And so it’s also not quite a surprise that if you’re seeing, especially in higher income countries, a lot of workers reaching retirement age, that employers are very focused on this last place of disconnect, changes to pension plans that extend the retirement age. Not so important, or actually at the other end of the spectrum for employees. Next slide. So we wanted to focus on, at ADP Research, this gap between what the global employer base told World Economic Forum in terms of the future of work, and what we see every day in terms of working with a global workforce. And so we went and surveyed, again, 38,000 workers in 34 countries, and asked them, do you feel prepared to move your career over the next three years? Remember, career advancement was the one place of alignment that we elicited in this collaboration. But only 24% of the global workforce actually feel like they have the skills they need to advance their careers in the next three years. 24%. And if you dissect that to the two thirds who have an advanced degree beyond high school, who have vocational training, or a college degree, or an advanced degree, that 24% moves up to 27%. So even for the most skilled of our workforce, they don’t feel prepared in the next three years. That’s a finding that people should circle. It has a big meaning for employers, because only 17% feel strongly that their employers invest in the skills they need to advance. Here is the skills opportunity. Workers demand it, and there’s a reason why employers should listen. Next slide. Now at ADP, we’re not only able to elicit what workers feel and care about, we’re actually able to measure it. We’re able to measure the skills opportunity with this big data set that we have at ADP for US workers. And we found something remarkable when it comes to skills. We look at jobs through the lens of the Occupational Information Network, the O-Net network, which defines different job zones from the lowest need for preparation all the way up to the highest. Think dishwasher, brain surgeon. And in that big range of job preparedness, we found that on average, a worker sees a 37% pay bump from going from one level of skills preparation to the next. 37% on average. So the gains from upskilling are enormous, but there’s more to this. For men on average, they experience a 44% bump in wage gains. But for women, only 30%. And when we get to the most complex jobs, that skills advantage, that gap becomes even wider. Again, for the most skilled jobs, men see a 44% bump in higher medium wages. Women, 15%. So there’s a huge opportunity here to close that skills gap in gender, to close that skills gap when it comes to geography, to give workers what they want and need to be successful over the next five years. ADP research has found that workers who are upskilled, who feel like their employers invest in their skillset, do two things very, very well. They tend to be very loyal to their employer, and they tend to be very productive in their self-reporting of their work. And so if you want a happy, engaged workforce, one that thrives, one that innovates, and one that captures the amazing opportunity that we have in store with a technological boom, investment in skills is a requirement and a necessity. And to say more about that investment, I’m pleased to bring up to the stage, Andrew, my co-panelist. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Andrew Ng: Thanks, Nita. Can people hear me okay? All right. So I thought that was great data, and I feel like a lot of the drivers of long-term changes in workforce are really driven by technological change. I think human nature has stayed quite similar for a long time, but it’s really technological change and maybe geopolitical change that are driving a lot of these. So what I thought I’d do is to complement Nita’s presentation with some observations of what Coursera and DeepLearning.ai and I work at different businesses are seeing on the ground with technological change with a lens particularly on AI. So I know that for a lot of employees, maybe even some of us in this room, people are wondering, will AI take my job? And what I am seeing, what we see in many businesses is because of the power of AI, one of the most important skills for the current generation of workers as well as for the next generation is the ability to get computers to do exactly what you want it to do. Because with computers able to tackle more and more tasks, people in all walks of life and all types of job functions are able to use computers or AI to do what you want it to, will be materially more powerful. So maybe some examples just to bring this to life. On my team, I have a former journalist that just last week showed me code that he had written to scrape news feeds, to read RSS feeds, to highlight for him news articles that he should pay attention to and maybe cover. I have a finance person that puts you on an app that monitors exchange rates in real time and sends her notifications so that she can better manage our global set of bank accounts in various different currencies. And I think these are examples of people that are not software engineers, but have learned enough about AI and how to program in order to use computers to enhance the job functions. So in this next period of time, and I think I want to reflect on some things that I see as a technologist that may not yet show up in today’s data, but I think will be driven by upcoming technology. I think that in the future, AI won’t take people’s jobs, but people that know AI will take the jobs of people that don’t. And the other important trend is employee productivity will rise, I think in a fairly spectacular way, if you empower them with AI tools. I know some of you may have children. If you do, my advice is get them to learn to code because for the foreseeable future, people with a deep understanding of technology and AI will be able to use computers much more effectively, whatever job profession they end up doing. Beyond this technology trend, what we’re also seeing at Coursera and at Deep Learning AI is that this increased uncertainty, shift in job roles, shift in skills is also driving increased demand from both employers and employees for upskilling. One of the challenges of education is that the short-term impact is modest. The long-term impact is profound. And so it takes a certain company and individual culture to make that modest upfront investment to then deliver these sorts of life-changing and really game-changing results for the enterprises. And I think this inefficiency has caused society at large to underinvest in everything from early childhood education to upskilling of adult workers. But we see a lot of individuals and businesses making these investments and then over some period of time enjoying very positive ROI, increased employee retention. And I think that it’s been encouraging that the pressures driven by technological change are causing businesses to also invest more in this. So I have a lot more to say about the nature of work, but I think this is a good time to upskill your workforces. Get everyone. Frankly, I find that, I think in the future, today, I can’t imagine hiring a marketer or recruiter that doesn’t know how to search the web, right? If you don’t know how to use the internet, not hiring them, frankly. In the future, I think for a lot of these job roles, I will not hire a marketer that doesn’t know how to code. And I will not hire a finance person that doesn’t know how to get computers to do things for you. This isn’t the moment of reality at this moment, but I think we will get to that world sooner than we think. But this is a good moment to prepare our workforces to learn AI and frankly, get people to learn to code. It will make them much more productive. I think with that, let me invite Neela back on. I think both of us will take questions together.

Nela Richardson: Oh, thank you.

Audience: So you said that productivity will rise with AI, right? That in the coming time, when the AI comes and we’re using AI, productivity should rise. But do you think that also brings a declination in the skills of people as well? Because right now, I’m asking AI to make my Excel sheets. I’m asking AI to make my PowerPoint. So I’m asking AI to make my PowerPoint. So I’m asking AI to make my PowerPoint. So I’m asking AI to make my PowerPoint. representations, because of course it’ll make my life easier, it’ll make my life quick. But do you think that it is also declining my skills of doing the same thing, of course?

Nela Richardson: The short answer, and I would love to hear Andrew’s take on this, it’s doing both. It’s degrading some of your skills, yes. Some of those skills are being retired, and I think that’s what’s leading to the uncertainty in the workforce. But you’re also gaining new skills. Hopefully you’re learning to code. Apparently that’s important. But in some ways, writing good prompts may be a new skill. You’re teaching your generative AI that is producing these spreadsheets and these presentations, how to do that, and that’s a skill. So yeah, it’s a creative destruction, is what we say in economics. Skills are being created, skills are being destroyed, but overall the innovation and the productivity, the promise is that it increases. And I would say, I think it’s okay. You know, by the way, I have no sense of direction. If you hang out with me and you ask, how do you go home, I have no idea, right? So I need my GPS. And I feel like, to the extent that it degrades skills that we do need humans to know, that would be unfortunate. But to the extent that it degrades skills that we can just permanently farm off to a computer, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. In computer science, we build on abstractions, or we stand on the shoulders of giants so that we can rise to greater heights ourselves. And it’s okay if someone else has built a foundation for us to build on, because that’s how collectively we as a society build more and more complex things. It’s what it means to be human. Just one more, I thought your question was a great opener, because it reminds me of what skills won’t go away, and that’s the human skills, that connection, collaboration, creative thinking. In fact, if you have more time doing that and less time on your spreadsheets, that might be a good use of skills. Hi, thank you. So I’m just curious what aspect of coding you think is important for humans to learn,

Audience: because my understanding prior was that AI would take over a lot of the coding, and so that would actually be something that would be done more by AI than humans, and that coding was becoming more obsolete. So curious what type of coding you think’s important

Andrew Ng: for humans to still do. Yeah, I’m glad you asked that. So it turns out that AI-assisted coding is incredibly helpful, and AI is taking over parts of coding, but what I’m seeing is that if you don’t know how to code at all, then trying to get AI to code for you, you will almost always hit a wall that you cannot break through, whereas people that know a little bit of coding will be able to break through and complete the task. So the data right now seems to show that AI-assisted coding gives experts a massive productivity boost, and gives novices a slight productivity boost, but we’re also seeing that with AI-assisted coding, a little bit of knowledge now goes a long way. Maybe just to give you one more important trend, I know there are a lot of large businesses represented here, if I look at coding, I want to distinguish maybe three buckets. There’s building quick and dirty software prototypes to test an idea, there is writing enterprise-grade software, and then there’s maintaining legacy codebases. It turns out for the latter two buckets, writing enterprise-grade software and maintaining legacy codebases, AI makes you, let’s say, 30 to 50% more efficient. I think McKinsey and others say that, which is great, 50% more efficient, fantastic. But the complete game-changer is building quick and dirty prototypes just to test an idea, which for various technical reasons, I see not a 50% improvement, but more like a 10x improvement in productivity. And this means that a lot of individuals will be empowered to write those little apps to automate their own work. The last generation of robotic process automation it’s been difficult to implement, right? It’s just as difficult, it hasn’t lived up to the early hype. But I think the next gen of RPA means that if you have two people, or even one person doing a workflow, it will be economical to automate that rather than you need like 100 people doing something before you can automate it. And this will be important for the corporate innovation process too, where we will empower a lot of people

Nela Richardson: to just try ideas out very easily. And the collaboration, the digital access to this technology, not just in one location, but around the world is what enables this demographic transition of the prime age worker from the wealthier countries into the poorer countries that is going to be needed to keep growth sustained. So it’s also not just the coding, but it’s the digital platform that makes that coding shared with others. So a little goes a long way to underscore that point. We have time for one more question. Is there another?

Audience: Well, is there? Okay, then. One here. Thank you for this presentation. Could you talk a little bit more about the findings and the delta between the flexibility that workers want and what employers are thinking? Sure. So it is, the right word is flexibility.

Nela Richardson: I think a lot of times people confuse remote work and hybrid work with location, and that people want to stay at home and work in front of their televisions and play with their dog and have snacks available. I mean, honestly, I do too. But what workers tell us is what they want is flexibility of their schedules, of their calendar, the autonomy that comes with work, not necessarily location. My mom’s a teacher. It’s a job you can’t do remotely. 60% of jobs you can’t do remotely. And we know that onsite work helps with collaboration. So it’s about meeting that need as an employer, whether or not the position is mandated to be in the office or on the worksite, like a construction worker, full-time, but managing that with the schedule, giving people the autonomy around work that they enjoy during the pandemic. How do you extend that? And how do you base that and route it in on-the-job training? Because that training is going to be important. It has to be delivered in a way that the global workforce can experience it, whether it’s spotty internet or spotty attention. Some of that training needs to be on-site. And we know that that training is vital to engagement, to loyalty, to productivity. So it’s one of a pillar of how do you prepare a workforce. It’s not the only thing, but it’s one of the conditions that now employers have to be sensitive to. That’s cool. That’s really great. Okay, well, thank you for coming to this. We’re around for a little bit longer. We appreciate your attention. Thank you.

Agreement Points

Importance of upskilling and education for future workforce

speakers

– Nela Richardson
– Andrew Ng

arguments

Only 24% of global workforce feel prepared for career advancement

Upskilling leads to significant wage increases

Businesses and individuals need to invest in upskilling

Learning to code is crucial for future job prospects

summary

Both speakers emphasize the critical need for upskilling and education to prepare the workforce for future job requirements, highlighting the benefits of increased wages and career advancement.

AI and technological change as key drivers of labor market changes

speakers

– Nela Richardson
– Andrew Ng

arguments

Technological change and digital environment

AI will increase employee productivity significantly

AI-assisted coding boosts productivity for experts and novices

summary

Both speakers identify AI and technological advancements as major factors shaping the future of work, emphasizing their impact on productivity and skill requirements.

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers acknowledge that while AI may make some skills obsolete, it also creates new skill requirements. They emphasize the importance of adapting to these changes and learning to use AI effectively in various job roles.

speakers

– Nela Richardson
– Andrew Ng

arguments

AI may degrade some skills while creating new ones

Need for workers to learn how to use AI effectively in their roles

Unexpected Consensus

Importance of human skills alongside technological skills

speakers

– Nela Richardson
– Andrew Ng

arguments

Importance of human skills like collaboration and creativity

AI won’t take jobs, but people who know AI will take jobs from those who don’t

explanation

While both speakers strongly emphasize the importance of technological skills, they unexpectedly agree on the continued relevance of human skills. This consensus highlights a balanced view of the future workforce needs, combining both technological proficiency and uniquely human capabilities.

Overall Assessment

Summary

The main areas of agreement revolve around the importance of upskilling, the impact of AI and technology on the future of work, and the need for both technological and human skills in the workforce.

Consensus level

There is a high level of consensus between the two main speakers, Nela Richardson and Andrew Ng, on key issues related to the future of work and skills development. This strong agreement implies a clear direction for workforce development strategies, emphasizing the need for continuous learning, adaptation to technological changes, and investment in both AI-related and human skills.

Different Viewpoints

Importance of coding skills

speakers

– Andrew Ng
– Nela Richardson

arguments

AI and coding skills will be crucial for future jobs

Importance of human skills like collaboration and creativity

summary

While Andrew Ng emphasizes the crucial importance of coding skills for future jobs across various professions, Nela Richardson focuses more on the enduring importance of human skills such as collaboration and creativity.

Unexpected Differences

Focus on flexibility vs. technology skills

speakers

– Nela Richardson
– Andrew Ng

arguments

Workers value flexibility more than employers realize

Learning to code is crucial for future job prospects

explanation

While both speakers discuss the future of work, there’s an unexpected difference in their focus. Nela Richardson emphasizes the importance of workplace flexibility for workers, which employers may be undervaluing. In contrast, Andrew Ng focuses heavily on the need for coding and AI skills, without mentioning flexibility concerns.

Overall Assessment

summary

The main areas of disagreement revolve around the relative importance of technical skills versus human skills, and the focus on workplace flexibility versus technological proficiency.

difference_level

The level of disagreement is moderate. While the speakers generally agree on the importance of adapting to technological changes and upskilling, they differ in their emphasis on specific aspects of this adaptation. These differences have implications for how organizations and individuals might prioritize their efforts in preparing for the future of work.

Partial Agreements

Both speakers agree that AI will have a significant impact on productivity and skills, but they differ in their emphasis. Andrew Ng focuses more on the productivity gains, while Nela Richardson highlights the potential for both skill degradation and creation.

speakers

– Andrew Ng
– Nela Richardson

arguments

AI will increase employee productivity significantly

AI may degrade some skills while creating new ones

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers acknowledge that while AI may make some skills obsolete, it also creates new skill requirements. They emphasize the importance of adapting to these changes and learning to use AI effectively in various job roles.

speakers

– Nela Richardson
– Andrew Ng

arguments

AI may degrade some skills while creating new ones

Need for workers to learn how to use AI effectively in their roles

Key Takeaways

Two-fifths of core job skills will change in the next 5 years due to technological advancements, especially AI

There’s a significant skills gap, with only 24% of the global workforce feeling prepared for career advancement

AI and coding skills will be crucial for future jobs across various sectors

Upskilling leads to significant wage increases, with an average 37% pay bump between skill levels

There’s a misalignment between what workers value (flexibility) and what employers prioritize

AI will significantly increase employee productivity, but may also degrade some existing skills while creating new ones

Businesses and individuals need to invest in upskilling to remain competitive in the future job market

Resolutions and Action Items

Employers should invest more in upskilling their workforce

Workers should focus on learning AI and coding skills to remain competitive

Companies should consider offering more flexibility to align with worker preferences

Education systems should emphasize coding and AI skills from an early age

Unresolved Issues

How to address the gender gap in skills advancement and wage increases

How to balance the need for in-person collaboration with workers’ desire for flexibility

How to ensure equitable access to upskilling opportunities across different geographic and economic regions

The extent to which AI will replace certain job functions versus augmenting human capabilities

Suggested Compromises

Balancing remote work flexibility with on-site training and collaboration opportunities

Focusing on schedule flexibility rather than just location flexibility for jobs that can’t be done remotely

Using AI-assisted coding to boost productivity while still maintaining human oversight and expertise

Two-fifths of core skills will change over the next five years.

speaker

Nela Richardson

reason

This statistic highlights the rapid pace of change in workforce skills, setting the stage for the entire discussion about the future of work.

impact

It framed the conversation around the need for continuous skill development and adaptation in the workforce.

Only 24% of the global workforce actually feel like they have the skills they need to advance their careers in the next three years.

speaker

Nela Richardson

reason

This reveals a significant skills gap and lack of confidence among workers, even among those with advanced degrees.

impact

It emphasized the urgency of addressing the skills gap and the importance of employer investment in upskilling.

In the future, AI won’t take people’s jobs, but people that know AI will take the jobs of people that don’t.

speaker

Andrew Ng

reason

This reframes the common fear of AI replacing jobs into a more nuanced view of how AI skills will become a competitive advantage in the job market.

impact

It shifted the conversation from fear of job loss to the importance of acquiring AI skills across all professions.

I think for a lot of these job roles, I will not hire a marketer that doesn’t know how to code. And I will not hire a finance person that doesn’t know how to get computers to do things for you.

speaker

Andrew Ng

reason

This prediction challenges traditional notions of job roles and highlights the increasing importance of technical skills across various professions.

impact

It sparked discussion about the changing nature of job requirements and the need for interdisciplinary skills.

AI-assisted coding gives experts a massive productivity boost, and gives novices a slight productivity boost, but we’re also seeing that with AI-assisted coding, a little bit of knowledge now goes a long way.

speaker

Andrew Ng

reason

This insight provides a nuanced view of how AI is impacting coding productivity across different skill levels.

impact

It led to a deeper discussion about the specific ways AI is changing work processes and the value of even basic coding knowledge.

Overall Assessment

These key comments shaped the discussion by highlighting the rapid pace of change in workforce skills, the significant skills gap that exists, and the transformative impact of AI across various professions. They shifted the conversation from general trends to specific impacts on job roles and skills, emphasizing the need for continuous learning and adaptation. The discussion evolved from identifying challenges to exploring solutions, particularly focusing on the importance of coding and AI skills in the future job market.

How can the skills gap between lower income countries and higher income countries be closed?

speaker

Nela Richardson

explanation

This is important because the Future of Jobs report indicates that 120 million people may not receive the skills they need to advance, particularly in lower income countries.

How can employers address the misalignment between what workers value (flexibility) and what employers prioritize?

speaker

Nela Richardson

explanation

This is crucial for improving employee satisfaction and retention, as flexibility was identified as the top priority for workers but only eighth for employers.

Why is there such a significant gender gap in wage gains from upskilling, and how can it be addressed?

speaker

Nela Richardson

explanation

Understanding and addressing this disparity is important for promoting gender equality in the workforce and ensuring equal opportunities for career advancement.

How can businesses be encouraged to make long-term investments in employee upskilling despite the modest short-term impact?

speaker

Andrew Ng

explanation

This is important because the long-term impact of upskilling is profound, but the short-term benefits may not be immediately apparent, leading to underinvestment.

How can education systems be adapted to prepare the next generation for a world where coding and AI skills are essential across various professions?

speaker

Andrew Ng

explanation

This is crucial for ensuring future workforce readiness and competitiveness in an increasingly AI-driven job market.

How can companies balance the need for on-site work and collaboration with employees’ desire for schedule flexibility?

speaker

Nela Richardson

explanation

Finding this balance is important for maintaining productivity and innovation while also meeting employee preferences and improving retention.