The founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab published a report where he states that we are at the cusp of a new industrial revolution and outlines the potential impacts on society by 2020.
Some of the predictions are truly shocking:
- Between 2015-2020, 7.1 million jobs will be lost to new innovations and developments which will also pave the path for 2 million new jobs. This means there will be a net decline of 5.1 million jobs from the job market.
- By another popular estimate, 65% of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that even don’t yet exist.
- For all those still studying – nearly 50% of subject knowledge acquired during the first year of a four-year technical degree is outdated by the time students graduate.
- On average, by 2020, more than a third of the desired core skill sets of most occupations will be comprised of skills that are not yet considered crucial to the job today.