Prepare for a skills shift: what employers need to do to adapt their workforce

Through 2030, time spent using advanced technological skills will increase by 50 percent in the United States. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The more technology increases and changes, the greater the skills of workers need to shift to adapt to the changes. A new report from McKinsey Global Institute, “Skill Shift, Automation and the Future of the Workforce,” shows that not only will workers need to adapt to new skills as the demand for physical and manual work declines, but so too will employers need to rethink and adjust how work will be structured within their organizations.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the biggest technological change that will alter skills required in the workplace. McKinsey’s research shows that through 2030, the time spent using advanced technological skills will increase by 50 percent in the United States and by 41 percent in Europe. “We expect the fastest rise in the need for advanced IT and programming skills, which could grow as much as 90 percent between 2016 and 2030,” say the report’s authors. “People with these skills will inevitably be a minority. However, there is also a significant need for everyone to develop basic digital skills for the new age of automation. We find that among 25 skills we analyzed, basic digital skills are the second-fastest-growing category, increasing by 69 percent in the United States and by 65 percent in Europe.”