Geographies with a demographic dividend, such as India and Sub-saharan African nations, will supply nearly two-thirds of new workforce entrants in the coming years, according to the latest Future of Jobs report from the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The report tags demographic shifts as one of the most crucial aspects in transforming global economies and labour markets. “Two demographic shifts are increasingly seen to be transforming global economies and labour markets: ageing and declining working age populations, predominantly in higher-income economies, and expanding working age populations, predominantly in lower-income economies,” it says.
The WEF observes that these trends drive an increase in demand for skills in “talent management, teaching and mentoring, and motivation and self-awareness”.
The WEF also observes that the Demographic shifts have a direct impact on global labour supply. “Currently balanced between lower-income (49 per cent) and higher-income (51 per cent) working-age populations, this distribution is expected to shift by 2050, with lower-income countries projected to hold 59 per cent of the global working-age population,” says the report.
According to the report, Increased digital access, geopolitical tensions, and climate mitigation efforts are the primary trends expected to shape the future of jobs in India by 2030. The WEF observes that similar to their peers, companies operating in India are heavily investing in AI, robotics, autonomous systems, and energy technologies.
Notably, data from Coursera suggests that the demand for AI skills has accelerated globally, with India and the United States leading in enrolment numbers.
“However, the drivers of demand differ. In the United States, demand is primarily driven by individual users, whereas in India, corporate sponsorship plays a significant role in boosting GenAI training uptake,” says the WEF report.
The Future of Jobs report also observes that employers in India are planning to outpace global adoption in certain technologies, with 35 per cent expecting semiconductors and computing technologies and 21 per cent expecting quantum and encryption to transform their operations. “The country’s projected fastest-growing job roles—including big data specialists, AI and machine learning specialists, and security management specialists—align closely with these trends.
To address talent needs, companies operating in India expect tapping into diverse talent pools (67 per cent, compared to 47 per cent globally) and adopting skills-based hiring by removing degree requirements (30 per cent, compared to 19 per cent globally) to be effective,” says the report.