Will the development of artificial intelligence make you unemployed?

• The impact of technology on employment dynamics is already evident, with automation and artificial intelligence expected to create 12 million more jobs than they replace by 2025.
• This trend highlights the need to transform career development models to develop a highly skilled and adaptable workforce.
• Governments, businesses, educational institutions and job seekers in the Middle East should seek to work together to rebuild trust in talent and the job market.

In an era of rapid technological innovation, the 2024 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos is an important platform to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the future of work.

The impact of technology on employment dynamics is evident in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2023 report , which estimates that by 2025, automation technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) will create 12 million more jobs worldwide than they replace.

This paradoxical situation highlights the transformative potential of technology, which displaces certain jobs but also creates new opportunities.

However, this also highlights the need to transform individuals’ career development models, as the market clearly needs an adaptable workforce with the skills required for new types of jobs.

Here, we explore the disruptive impact of technology on the Middle East’s labour market and how governments, businesses, educational institutions and job seekers can work together to rebuild trust in talent and the job market.

Expected impact of technology adoption on jobs, 2023-2027 Image: World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2023 report

The Arab World Competitiveness Report points out that while technology is developing, traditional education systems in the Middle East are struggling to keep up.

The rigid structures of academic institutions fail to develop the flexible, adaptable skills that the contemporary job market demands. As companies increasingly recognize the limitations of traditional degrees in assessing employees’ workplace readiness, the value of formal education becomes less important.

A PwC study found that more than 72% of businesses in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) believe that having practical skills is more important than having a degree when assessing potential employees.

In fact, the study also found that despite the general improvement in education levels, the skills and knowledge acquired by workers through education are often not in line with the needs of enterprises. This phenomenon shows the necessity of adopting a dynamic education approach to adapt to changes in labor demand.

Furthermore, the pace of technological change is so rapid that degrees earned and skills learned today may become obsolete in just a few years. For example, demand for computer science degrees and coding skills surged, but has slowed significantly since the emergence of advanced language models such as ChatGPT, which have shown the potential to replace a large number of coding jobs.

This unpredictability requires us to change our mindset and recognize the importance of lifelong learning and adaptability. Individuals can no longer rely on a single skill set throughout their careers, which requires people to develop a variety of skills to adapt to the ever-changing needs of the job market.

The rise of micro-credentials and practical skills

As such, the education sector is undergoing a transformation, with micro-credential courses and practical skills courses emerging as strong competitors to the traditional education model.

In order to adapt to the rapid development of various industries and the demand for employable skills, individuals and companies are increasingly turning their attention to short-term courses that focus on developing specific job skills.

Micro-certificate courses are usually taught by well-known institutions and industry experts, allowing learners to learn practical skills in a flexible, concise and efficient manner.

The trend is particularly evident in the tech industry, where coding boot camps and professional certification exams have gained traction in recent years.

While the importance of specific job skills is unquestionable in the contemporary job market, the need for “foundational” skills is equally important as industries continue to change and evolve, as these skills form a core component of a set of capabilities that transcend specific jobs and lay the foundation for a resilient and adaptable workforce.

With these skills, job seekers can develop a flexible mindset to navigate an ever-changing career environment and ensure they have the ability to continue learning and adapt even when their technical skills become outdated.

Individuals acquire technical expertise from professional training programs, and foundational skills are essentially the building blocks for effectively mastering and applying these expertise proficiently in real-world situations.

Governments across the GCC have recognised the importance of foundational skills and are investing in programmes to impart these skills to the younger generation, including in areas such as mind development, leadership, problem solving and communication.

Those seeking to upskill or learn new skills are in luck, as the proliferation of online learning platforms has spawned a vast array of online courses on a wide range of subjects. However, the sheer volume of content can be daunting, leading to a phenomenon known as “content overload.”

This phenomenon often causes learners to spend too much time screening courses, preventing them from choosing the right course for them. In addition, the quality of online courses is not always guaranteed, and many platforms lack a strict content curation process.

This has left room for a host of outdated, inaccurate or poorly structured courses, and has raised concerns about whether online learning can actually develop the necessary skills needed in a rapidly changing job market.

Learning ecosystem requires investment

To truly prepare the workforce for the future, investments are needed from governments, businesses, educational institutions and job seekers themselves.

Governments should provide infrastructure and training subsidies to build an ecosystem suitable for continuous learning, while companies should actively invest in programs for continuous upskilling and reskilling so that their employees can keep up with the latest developments.

Universities should provide additional learning opportunities beyond traditional courses to develop students’ adaptability and practical skills. Likewise, learning institutions should invest in better management mechanisms to ensure that high-quality, valuable content is provided to learners.

Ultimately, job seekers should research and understand market trends, invest in themselves, and acquire skills that will advance their careers and maximize their employability.

By recognizing the transformative power of technology, reassessing the role of traditional education, and embracing targeted, high-quality learning approaches, we can rebuild trust in talent and the job market.

The key is to encourage a culture of continuous learning and adaptability, ensuring that individuals are not just prepared for the job at hand, but have the necessary skills to continue to develop in the changing employment landscape of the future.

Author of this article:

Hashim Alsharif Alzaabi, Managing Partner, The Fifth Element

Christian Gemayel, Partner, The Fifth Element

This article originally appeared on the World Economic Forum's Agenda blog