From The Mountain Top: The Three Key Trends For Parents Coming Out Of The World Economic Forum
Love it or hate it. Here's WEF's take on the future of jobs and work.
Issue 15:
01.27.2023
Last week the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting took place in Davos. This famously elitist gathering brought out a record number of leaders from government, business, and civil society to address the state of the world and the priorities ahead.
This year's theme was 'Cooperation in a Fragmented World,’ Davos 2023 focused on how best to support investment in education, skills, and healthcare to future-proof economies. Whether you see Davos as a pointless elitist indulgence or believe it's an inspirational forum to bring together decision-makers and leapfrog forward on key issues, the discussion signals what will matter in the market and world of the future.
We looked at the coverage and content coming out of WEF to see what parents need to know about the future of skills, work, and learning based on the views from the top of the mountain.
The Green Transition Means Coming Job Opportunities
One key prediction for parents to consider is that the move towards a low-emission economy and the incredible investments in sustainable development will create millions of "green jobs."
"There is a parallel between the demand for green skills and what we saw in the technology boom. Companies will pay to get the talent they need. Companies working in tech are willing to hire based on skills alone because they need the people they are willing to look beyond the normal things they'd pay attention to," stated Allen Blue, Co-Founder & Vice President of Products at LinkedIn Corporation.
This is an exciting and high-impact sector to pay attention to for future career pathways and looks to be set up to have multiple nimble entry points driven by demand.
Employers Reconsider If College Degrees Matter
WEF endorsed one of the most interesting developments was an active end to degree bias to drive business growth and increased talent diversity.
Focusing less on degrees (or "tearing through the paper ceiling") and more on ability is a win-win for employees, employers, and parents. Workers have more options and opportunities for career advancement and growth. At the same time, businesses are better positioned to meet the growing demand for talent, achieve productivity goals, enhance competitiveness and implement true diversity in the workplace.
In 2022, 75% of companies in a global survey reported talent shortages and difficulty hiring, a 16-year high. As a result, to expand their talent pools, firms are easing or eliminating the university degree filter in online job applications, looking instead at skills gleaned through prior work, life experience, and natural leadership qualities.
For parents and educators, it signals employment pathways beyond traditional four-year degrees are growing. For parents and educators looking to help their kids take advantage of this shift - the key is to help kids put together other proof points that can be proxies for skills and ability.
Web 3, DAOs and the metaverse
Quite recently, the work world has been shaken by the rise of decentralized autonomous organizations or DAOs, and the Metaverse - and the minds at WEF believe will significantly impact how the world of work develops and looks. A DAO is an internet-native organization with core functions that are automated by smart contracts and with people who do the things that automation cannot (e.g., marketing and software development).
In practice, not all DAOs are decentralized or autonomous, so it is best to think of DAOs as internet-based organizations that are collectively owned and controlled by their members.
Though it is still early in the evolution of DAOs, they are no longer just a hopeful concept. They are real organizations managing billions of dollars of capital, providing real products and services to millions of people, and creating new ways for people to earn an income.
WEF's 2022 Global Workforce of the Future study found that nearly half (46%) of Gen Z workers believe the Metaverse will become part of their job in the future (and perhaps more importantly, they want to work in the Metaverse), and 67% of those Gen Z workers have already worked in one or are considering doing so. DAOS are hot, and the number of DAOs and their participants has skyrocketed (by some measures, they grew in 2021 from 13,000 to 1.7 million people worldwide).
DAOs mark another step in the growing power of the individual to work when, where, and for whom they want. But they also raise questions about accountability and what happens when the walls come down between organizations. Will talent sharing be a tenet of the future of flexible work?
This is an emerging space and one for parents to watch and understand. The disruption in the traditional work infrastructure will have a ripple-out impact on the skills and characteristics needed to thrive in this new world of work.