Artificial intelligence is one of the main factors of disruption, but other factors, such as the green transition and global geopolitical and economic conditions, can also explain the turnover of almost a quarter of jobs, including emerging and emerging ones. to disappear.
Furthermore, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, technology is advancing faster than the ability of businesses and governments to design and deploy training programs.
Green transition and employment
Along with technological transformations, the report also focuses on the employment opportunities that open up around the so-called green and energy transitions. With increasing awareness of climate change and the need for sustainability, new roles are already emerging and new ones are expected to emerge in sectors such as renewable energy and the circular economy.
These transitions will not only create jobs, but will also require a workforce with specialized skills in sustainability and environmental management.
The fastest-growing jobs relative to their size today are driven by technology, digitalization and sustainability. Artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists top the list of fast-growing jobs, followed by sustainability specialists, business intelligence analysts, and information security analysts.
Renewable energy engineers and solar energy systems and installations engineers are relatively fast-growing jobs as economies shift toward renewable energy.
Experts and the scientific community agree that it is increasingly urgent to move towards a more sustainable economic and social model that can confront current crises such as the climate emergency, the loss of natural resources, food insecurity or growing inequality. .
In Europe, the great pillar for ecological transformation revolves around the Green Deal. The goal is to achieve a sustainable economy by 2050 by mobilizing significant investments in areas related to natural resources, water, soil and air quality. The EU estimates that 2.5 million additional jobs will be created by 2030, provided the Green deal is a reality by then.
According to the analyzes carried out by the European Center for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), which helps European institutions and organizations to develop and implement the Union’s vocational training policies, there is a boom in demand for professionals in green transition jobs: jobs for highly skilled people (scientists, R&D researchers, specialized engineers) who create and develop green technology and find ways to implement it.
In Spain, the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan estimates that the growth in the number of green jobs will move around annual figures that may range between 240,000 and 340,000 people, only in the area of the energy transition.
Training for new demands
So much for the opportunities, but there are also some risks such as the lack of adequacy between the skills of current workers and the skills that these new emerging sectors demand. The lack of qualified professionals in these areas could limit growth in key sectors.
In Spain, according to the “Employment and Ecological Transition” report published in 2023, by the Biodiversity Foundation and the Spanish Office of Climate Change, there is a gap between the job opportunities that the market is offering and the training of both professionals in exercise, as well as those who are currently training.
For their part, educational institutions are trying to evolve to provide more flexible programs oriented towards the needs of the labor market and the new demands of the green transformation and, for their part, companies are also making an effort to train their workers in these new skills.
Within this context are framed the collaboration agreements signed a few days ago between the Government of Spain and various relevant companies from different sectors such as audiovisual, aerospace, railway and energy, among which is Naturgy, for the creation of four new “hubs”. ” that will serve to promote Vocational Training in our country.
As Enrique Tapia, general director of People and Resources at Naturgy, points out, “this public-private collaboration will allow the creation of a green energy hub, facilitating the preparation of professionals with the new knowledge and skills required for their incorporation into the labor market.”