Data insights can prepare organisations for future roles and identify transferable skills

By Paul Byrne, Head of Data Insights at Pnet

The world of data and analytics has permeated our daily lives, from fitness tracking to financial wellness. Companies of all sizes are measuring data to monitor behaviour, performance and results and are planning accordingly.

Data also plays a significant role in talent attraction and is set to change how recruiters find and retain talent. By paying close attention to supply and demand trends in the job market, companies can now be proactive to prevent being negatively affected by skills shortages.

At Pnet, an online recruitment platform, data insights are a foundation for talent attraction and retention strategies. Beyond just supply and demand data, Pnet analyses talent behaviour from its CV database of 5.6 million job seekers to understand common skills for specific roles and how these are changing as we move into our future world of work.

By using such data, companies can track the supply and demand of talent and monitor patterns of change in skills mix to make better data-driven decisions on how to repurpose or transfer skills as they prepare for the full impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

We can see a clear trend that the jobs of tomorrow will be technology, human or sustainability-based.

Technology-based jobs of tomorrow

Information Technology (IT) will continue to be a big player in the job market. Pnet foresees a substantial increase in demand for IT roles like Data Engineers, Data Scientists, Cloud Engineers, DevOps Engineers and Salesforce Developers. Looking at Cloud Engineers, we are seeing 11 times more advertised vacancies than five years ago.

Human-based jobs of tomorrow

While automation will be a real force in the future, many job roles designed to satisfy human needs will grow in demand. Wellness and health specialists, learning and education staff, as well as sales and marketing professionals will be required to ‘guide’ us in making decisions in a world with endless options. Demand for wellness specialists has increased by more than 15 times over the past five years, customer success staff by more than four times, and an increase in demand for digital marketing professionals and e-commerce managers have been noticeable.

Sustainability-based jobs of tomorrow

Climate change, the global energy crisis and the destruction of crucial natural environments have become a tangible threat to our world, and we are slowly becoming more environmentally conscious. We need a sustainable environment that can provide the right agricultural set-up for sustainable food supply and energy. Therefore, the need for sustainability-based professions is on the rise. Demand for renewable energy specialists has increased more than six times over the last five years.

Understanding the value of Big Data

The increasing use of the internet to attract talent provides companies like Pnet with an incredibly rich source of data. It enables us to access real-time information on skills availability and demand and the skills needed in the new world of work. This can assist local businesses in adequately preparing for future roles and identifying transferable skills to reskill and grow existing talent in preparation for a very different world of work. With the proper steps in place, companies of all sizes can still attract and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive global employment landscape.