equity and inclusion programmes (64%) and supplementing childcare for working parents (45%). With regard to public policies, funding for reskilling and upskilling and flexibility on hiring and firing practices are seen as the two most beneficial policies to expand the talent base. A majority of companies operating in Viet Nam expect increased digitalization, climate mitigation action and higher cost of living to shape the transformation of their business models over the 2025-2030 period. About one in two employers also highlights restrictions on global trade and investment among the most impactful trends for their business, twice the global average of 23%. For more than 60% of firms in the country, adapting to these trends is perceived to be made more difficult by existing skills gaps in the labour market, while 55% of respondents mention inadequate data and technical infrastructure and 41% point to limited understanding of emerging opportunities. To close skills gaps, a majority of employers in the country expect the most impactful public-policy measures to be increased public funding for reskilling and upskilling as well as more flexible hiring and firing practices. Half of respondents also point to adjustments to immigration laws (50%, compared to 26% globally) and retirement ages (46%, compared to 25% globally). Central Asia and Southern Asia Increased digital access, geopolitical tensions and climate-mitigation efforts are the primary trends expected to shape the future of jobs in India by 2030. Similar to their global peers, companies operating in the country are heavily investing in AI, robotics and autonomous systems, and energy technologies. Employers in India are also planning to outpace global adoption in certain technologies, with 35% expecting semiconductors and computing technologies and 21% expecting quantum and encryption to transform their operations. The country’s projected fastest- growing job roles – including Big Data Specialists, AI and Machine Learning Specialists, and Security Management Specialists – align closely with these trends. To address talent needs, companies operating in India expect tapping into diverse talent pools (67%, compared to 47% globally) and adopting skills-based hiring by removing degree requirements (30%, compared to 19% globally) to be effective. Companies operating in Kazakhstan expect broadening digital access, rising cost of living and slower economic growth to significantly impact their business models in the next five years. Technological trends related to AI, robotics and autonomous systems are also expected to have a significant – although lower than global average – impact, with energy generation, storage and distribution identified as the second-most impactful technological trend (highlighted by 54% of respondents). Skills gaps in the labour market are top-of-mind for seven in 10 firms in the country. Addressing skills gaps in the labour market is identified as a primary challenge to business transformation over the 2025 to 2030 period in Uzbekistan. While 71% of employers in the country expect improvements in talent retention, significantly above the global average, there remains strong need for reskilling and upskilling the current workforce. Overall, only 22% of Uzbekistan’s workforce today is expected to be able to upskill in their current role, with an additional 14% projected to be upskilled and then re-deployed, both of which are lower figures than global averages at 29% and 19%, respectively. Fifty-two percent of employers anticipate implementing strategies for reskilling their workforce to work alongside AI. Skills such as programming, teaching and mentoring, and multilingualism have higher-than-global projected demand increases. Middle East and Northern Africa Companies headquartered in the Middle East and Northern Africa region are more positive about talent availability by 2030 than their global peers, with 46% of employers expecting the hiring outlook to improve. Employers in the region, notably in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are also planning on accelerating automation. With 46% of on-the-job skills projected to change, compared to 39% worldwide, the region’s rate of skill disruption is most pronounced in countries such as Egypt and Bahrain, highlighting the need for reskilling and upskilling at a time of multi-dimensional change. Only 5% of firms operating in Bahrain identify aging and declining working-age populations as a transformative trend by 2030, compared to 40% of respondents globally. Talent availability is expected to remain stable, with only 8% of employers anticipating a deterioration, which is far below the global average. However, two-thirds of employers expect skills gaps in the labour market to remain the top barrier to business transformation. Twenty- four percent of Bahrain’s employees are expected to be able to upskill in their current roles, and an additional 14% to be redeployed after upskilling; both figures are below global averages. To attract skilled talent, employers in the country are focused on improving working hours and overtime policies and expecting to leverage government wage subsidies. In Egypt, rising cost of living, slower economic growth and broadening digital access are the key trends expected to influence the labour market by 2030. Fifty-five percent of employers operating in the country expect talent availability to improve, significantly above global average, in spite of a heightened rate of skill disruption, as 48% of on-the-job skills of the Egyptian workforce are projected to change over the next half-decade Future of Jobs Report 2025 68