Future of Jobs Report 2025: Top Skills & Roles in Demand
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 examines anticipated challenges and opportunities facing economies from 2025-2030. It harvested the views of more than 1,000 who represent some 14 million workers worldwide.
While the ascendency of AI, the cost of living and climate change are the top three trends impacting economies, WEF also analyses other phenomena likely to affect the jobs market for 2025-2030.
Introducing the report, Saadia Zahidi, WEF Managing Director, commented that technological advances are “converging with a broader array of challenges, including economic volatility, geoeconomic realignments, environmental challenges and evolving societal expectations.”
The increasing cost of living is a key contributor to economic volatility. With over 5,500+ free online courses, Alison has equipped more than 45 million learners across 193 countries to compete in the job market, increase their skills, and achieve career growth and development.
Read on to discover how, as a trusted empowerment platform, we fully support WEF’s ambition to equip employers and individuals to meet the challenges ahead.
Demographic Shifts
Two demographic shifts are impacting global economies and labour markets: the ageing and shrinking workforce in higher-income economies, and conversely, the expanding workforce in lower-income economies.
As a result, WEF foresees an increase in demand for skills in talent management, mentoring, and motivation and self-awareness.
Young, Growing Workforce
Employers and trainers can equip staff to succeed through online learning. Online empowerment platform Alison offers training for apprentices in everything from caregiving to carpentry, providing theory teaching to complement on-the-job training.
Newcomers to the workplace can also develop soft skills like motivation and self-awareness through online self-improvement training.
With Alison, learners can master skills such as:
Ageing, Shrinking Workforce
In higher-income economies, ageing populations are driving growth in healthcare, nursing and adult education. Ongoing skills training is vital for professions such as nursing, where continued professional development is required to maintain registration. Alison’s teaching and adult education courses also support continuing professional development all over the world.
Alison Graduate Autumn D. commented on completing the certificate course, Facilitating Adult Learning Groups: “I really enjoyed this course! I am interviewing for a training manager position and this helped me skill myself to prepare for the interview!”
Click on the links for courses for:
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Cultural shifts and demographics have nudged equality issues up the agenda, particularly in higher-income economies. As a result, DEI training is highlighted by 47% of employers in The Future of Jobs Survey. WEF reports that 83% of employers have a DEI initiative in place, compared to 67% in 2023, rising to 96% in the USA.
Alison’s Human Resource Management courses, including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) training, can equip employers to manage and mentor talent and put professional systems in place.
Employee Wellbeing
Supporting employee health and well-being is expected to be a top focus for talent attraction, with 64% of employers surveyed identifying it as a key strategy to increase talent availability.
Individuals can take Alison’s free Workplace Wellbeing psychometric test to ascertain how they are doing and attain actionable insights.
Among the many testimonials about the benefits of the test is this from Luricelle P: “The assessment helped me become more emotionally resilient and it is a valuable tool for promoting self-awareness and proactive mindfulness. I highly recommend it as it is beneficial to an individual’s mental state.”
Political and Economic Turmoil
A third (34%) of surveyed organisations cited geoeconomic fragmentation and geopolitical tensions as issues driving business model transformation. Companies trading with the USA and China are expected to be most affected by restrictions on trade and investment, subsidies and industrial policies. They may consider relocating operations offshore or end previous offshore arrangements.
Jobs for the Future
The Industrial Revolution transformed the Western world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The ongoing Technological Revolution is moving farther and faster and will continue to alter the jobs landscape.
According to the Future of Jobs Survey the labour-market transformation is likely to generate 170 million jobs (14% of today’s total employment). An estimated 92 million (8% of current jobs) are expected to be displaced, “resulting in net growth of 7% of total employment, or 78 million jobs”.
Along with the technology and care economy sector mentioned above, frontline workers will continue to be in demand, WEF finds, and are predicted to see the largest growth in absolute terms of volume. Individuals and organisations wishing to upskill in these in-demand jobs can find free online courses on Alison.
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Jobs in Decline
The jobs facing the fastest net decline (%), projected by employers surveyed by WEF
Clerical and Secretarial Workers
Automation and AI are impacting the future prospects of many in administrative and secretarial roles. According to WEF, the largest decline in absolute numbers is set to impact Cashiers and Ticket Clerks, Administrative Assistants and Executive Secretaries, Postal Service Clerks, Bank Tellers and Data Entry Clerks.
“On average, workers can expect that two-fifths (39%) of their existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated over the 2025-2030 period,” WEF comments. “However, this measure of “skill instability” has slowed compared to previous editions of the report, from 44% in 2023 and a high point of 57% in 2020 in the wake of the pandemic. This finding could potentially be due to an increasing share of workers (50%) having completed training, reskilling or upskilling measures, compared to 41% in the report’s 2023 edition.”
Support for Job Seekers
Alison’s free resources extend far beyond direct training and include:
- A comprehensive Career Guide to facilitate those who find they are forced to migrate from one role to another. Once an individual has selected a career, they are then directed to the steps required to make the switch, including recommended courses.
- For those in need of more guidance, Alison’s Aptitude Test provides assessments in verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning. These not only help the candidate identify their abilities but can also prove their capacity to potential employers by printing their report. On completing the aptitude tests, candidates are directed to courses that will help them improve where necessary.
- Individuals can also take the Workplace Personality Test to ascertain what type of role they are most likely to succeed in.
- Job-seekers can also avail of the free Resume Builder to create a professional looking CV.
- Finally, they can prepare for the next stage of the recruitment process with comprehensive Interview Skills training.
Identifying Skills Gaps
If the world’s workforce was made up of 100 people, 59 would need training by 2030.” WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025
The differences between growing and declining job roles are expected to exacerbate the existing skills gaps, WEF warns. Along with resilience, flexibility and agility, programming and technological literacy mentioned above, other prominent skills gaps are anticipated to include resource management and operations, and quality control.
“Given these evolving skill demands, the scale of workforce upskilling and reskilling expected to be needed remains significant: if the world’s workforce was made up of 100 people, 59 would need training by 2030.
“Of these, employers foresee that 29 could be upskilled in their current roles and 19 could be upskilled and redeployed elsewhere within their organisation. However, 11 would be unlikely to receive the reskilling or upskilling needed, leaving their employment prospects increasingly at risk.”
The report continues: “Skill gaps are categorically considered the biggest barrier to business transformation by Future of Jobs Survey respondents, with 63% of employers identifying them as a major barrier over the 2025-2030 period. Accordingly, 85% of employers surveyed plan to prioritise upskilling their workforce, with 70% of employers expecting to hire staff with new skills, 40% planning to reduce staff as their skills become less relevant, and 50% planning to transition staff from declining to growing roles.”
Helping Employers Upskill Staff
Funding for – and provision of – reskilling and upskilling are seen as the two most welcomed public policies to boost talent availability. Alison is ideally placed to meet that need.
The platform’s groundbreaking Learning Management System empowers employers to tailor training to individual needs and to track learners’ progress. 
Employers can:
- Avail of 5,500+ courses for flexible & efficient learning
- Enjoy an easy setup process in under 5 minutes
- Assign certificates with CPD accreditation
- Access pre-curated learning paths
- Create their own learning paths
- Get real-time analytics in comprehensive reports.
Chart Your Course to 2030
In conclusion, the WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 provides a crucial roadmap for navigating the evolving world of work. By embracing lifelong learning, developing in-demand skills, and adapting to new technologies, individuals can thrive in this dynamic environment. Alison is committed to empowering learners worldwide with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the future of work. Its free online courses, combined with valuable resources like career guidance and aptitude assessments, provide a pathway to a brighter future for everyone.
Finally, the report predicts that curiosity and lifelong learning, are also expected to continue to rise in importance over the 2025-2030 period. Why not register for a free account with Alison today and get ahead of the (learning) curve!
*The World Economic Forum (WEF) Future of Jobs Report 2025 project team is Till Leopold, Attilio Di Battista, Ximena Játiva, Shuvasish Sharma, Ricky Li and Sam Grayling, alongside the wider team at the Centre for the New Economy and Society.
Read the full report or the report digest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What are some of the top skills and roles that are expected to be in demand in the coming years?
A. The report predicts growth in roles related to technology, the care economy, and frontline work. Specific skills in demand include talent management, mentoring, self-awareness, digital literacy, programming, resource management, and quality control. Frontline roles like farmworkers, delivery drivers, construction workers, salespersons, and food processing workers are also expected to see growth. Additionally, soft skills like resilience, flexibility, agility, curiosity, and a commitment to lifelong learning are becoming increasingly important.
Q. How can individuals and employers prepare for the changing job market, and how does Alison support this?
A. Individuals can prepare by focusing on lifelong learning, developing in-demand skills, and adapting to new technologies. Alison offers a wide range of free online courses covering many of the skills and roles highlighted in the report, including courses in technology, caregiving, and professional development. Alison also provides resources like career guides, aptitude tests, resume builders, and interview skills training to help individuals navigate the job market. For employers, Alison offers a Learning Management System that allows them to tailor training to individual needs, track learner progress, and manage upskilling and reskilling initiatives within their organizations. This helps employers address skill gaps and ensure their workforce is prepared for the future of work.
Q. What are some of the job roles that are projected to decline in the coming years?
A. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies clerical and secretarial roles as facing the fastest net decline. Specifically, the report highlights Cashiers and Ticket Clerks, Administrative Assistants and Executive Secretaries, Postal Service Clerks, Bank Tellers, and Data Entry Clerks as being significantly impacted by automation and AI. This emphasizes the need for workers in these areas to consider upskilling or reskilling to transition to more in-demand roles.
