Wan-Phek How
Career and Project Management Coach| Wan How Consulting
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
This is a fairly long and in keeping with the guidelines I am posting it in its entirety instead of using a link. Part 1 gives 5 highlights from the PM perspective from the WEF Future of Jobs Report 2020. I will post part 2 another day.
The World Economic Forum released The Future of Jobs Report in October 2020. In it, project manager ranked 11th in the top 20 jobs in increasing demand across all industries. That’s good news for PMs, but what are the 10 roles listed above project management jobs? What are the top 20 jobs in decline over the next five years? What are the other highlights in included in this report? And are there insights that are specific to the field of project management? Read on for the answers to these questions.
Hockey legend Wayne Gretsky is often quoted as saying, “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.” For non-ice hockey fans, translate that to, “Don’t run to where the ball is, run to where the ball is heading.” To mix metaphors, the WEF Jobs Report is sort of a crystal ball to see where project manager jobs are heading over the next five years.
Highlight #1: Project Manager Jobs Recovery Underway
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[Chart] OECD expects unemployment to fall from 12.6% at the end of 2020 to 8.9% in 2021
[Chart] US unemployment forecasted do drop to below 6% in 2021 from a high of 14.7% in February 2020
I am aware that not everyone reading this is currently employed. Well, that may change in the coming months. According to the WEF crystal ball, the current trend of decreasing unemployment will continue into 2021. So if you don’t have a job today, the likelihood of you getting a job continues to increase next year. And the more educated you are, the more opportunities are available to you. However, there is a caveat here. Some industries are not recovering as fast: recreation, travel, manufacturing, and consumer goods continue to experience a prolonged slump. IT and software were the least affected by COVID-19 with fewer layoffs and fewer rehires.
Highlight #2: Shift to Remote Work to Continue Post-Pandemic
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Social distancing rules meant that 44% of the workforce shifted to working remotely during COVID. The Chief Human Resource Officers surveyed by WEF aspire to expand the availability of remote work post-pandemic. Industries with the greatest potential to continue with remote work are IT, Professional Services, Finance and Insurance. Project Managers fall within the Professional Services category.
Highlight #3: COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of new technologies
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The WEF crystal ball also predicted that these will be the top 10 technologies adopted by 2025. The top 5 on this list have already gained considerable momentum as part of the ongoing 4th Industrial Revolution. COVID-19 served to accelerate their adoption and the demise of older technologies.
1. Cloud computing
2. Big data analytics
3. Internet of things and connected devices
4. Encryption and cybersecurity
5. Artificial Intelligence (including Machine Learning and Neuro-Linguistic Programming)
6. Text, image and voice processing
7. E-commerce and digital trade
8. Robots, non-humanoid e.g. industrial automation, drones
9. Augmented and virtual reality
10. Distributed ledger technology e.g. blockchain
Highlight #4: Changes to the Workforce may impact Project Manager Jobs
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The rapid adoption of new technologies will have an impact to the workforce. Translation: your project manager job may not be secure.
Here are the top 5 changes to the workforce by 2025:
1. Modify the composition of one’s value chain. This likely means that the number of workers in each department will change. Some departments will see increased headcount and others a reduction in full-time employees.
2. Reduce current workforce due to technological integration or automation. If a robot or algorithm can do the task, it will be automated.
3. Expand the use of contractors doing task-specialized work. This sounds like there will be fewer full-time employees as some of the tasks will be automated. And the remaining tasks could be outsourced to contractors. This is part of what the Project Management Institute calls the Projectized Economy of the future. Project managers could be hired on contract for domain specific work.
4. Modify the locations where the organization operates. This is part of the impact of a remote workforce. Workers could be sourced from locations with lower cost of living.
5. Expand current workforce due to technological integration or automation. This is likely for companies providing technological solutions the likes of Zoom, Amazon and Google.
Highlight #5: Share of tasks performed by humans vs. machines
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Here are the top 10 tasks which will shift to from humans to machines over the next 5 years:
1. Information and data processing
2. Looking for and receiving job-related information
3. Performing complex and technical activities
4. Administering
5. Identifying and evaluating job-related information
6. All tasks
7. Performing physical and manual work activities
8. Communicating and interacting
9. Reasoning and decision-making
10. Coordinating, developing, managing and advising
Thank you for reading to the end. Part 2 will be about insights. Coming soon...
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