The Skills Agenda in 2025: What can we expect?

With apocalyptic forecasts of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning replacing human labour in the next two decades, skills and workforce policies face a defining year, writes Tom Bewick

We have reached a quarter way through this century. How has technology and shifting attitudes changed the way we work over that period? And how will these trends continue to impact education and the labour market in 2025?

These questions can be answered by acknowledging two seemingly contradictory forces. The first is the emergence of the ‘work anytime, anywhere’ phenomenon. Jobs enabled by the Internet and digital tools allow knowledge workers and content producers to create and interact across borders without much regard for set office hours or their physical location. The second trend has been the rise in logistics, personal and social services roles, where skilled and physical labour is required in significant numbers, often in fixed locations, to serve customers or care for the public. Amazon-style warehouses and the growth in nail salons are just two prominent examples of fixed-location work.