This integration automates the assigning of tasks and logistics, shifting workers from tills to picking, packing and last-mile coordination. This shift enhances the capability of workers and enables rapid delivery times – including same-day and even within-hours delivery. Drones are also shifting the workforce from frontline retail towards operations and maintenance roles. In Ghana, retail drone delivery was piloted in 2022 so customers in remote areas could receive small e-commerce orders within minutes to a pick-up point. This is especially valuable for high-value, time-critical items. Energy generation and storage technologies are also transforming the wholesale and retail trade workforce. In South Africa, Nigeria and India, wholesalers are implementing rooftop solar panels and batteries to avoid outages and reduce diesel use. This enables jobs to shift towards energy system monitoring, refrigeration management and predictive maintenance, and stabilizes hours for frontline staff who used to be sent home during power cuts.These transformative technology shifts create opportunities for technical operators to maintain systems like energy, storage and refrigeration, and to operate robotics such as drones. Data-enabled supply chain and quality functions are also in demand, with roles in inventory planning, demand analysis and traceability. New workers will also be required for customer onboarding and retailer support for B2B applications. These roles will often be higher-wage than the existing wholesale and retail trade roles, however this also brings risks of displacement to the workforce, while the ability to develop new necessary skills will be limited for some workers. Returns will accrue to those with technical and data capability, while small retailers could face fees and data lock-in risks with large platform providers. Skill development will be essential, while the development of data standards or shared services will play a role in determining the distributional impact of transformative technologies on the wholesale and retail trade workforce. About 7% of the world’s workers are in the transport and logistics workforce, with this job family making up an increasing portion of the workforce as economies move up in income distribution. These workers are involved in all aspects of freight and people transport, as well as handling and storing. AI is increasingly transforming this workforce, including through agentic AI processes that can automatically process order forms and optimize logistics. This enhances the productivity of the transport and logistics workforce by ensuring time and distance are optimized, and increases capability by enabling deliveries to be made with shorter lead times. Robotics, especially drones for delivery could also transform the transport and logistics workforce. This can be seen in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, where drone delivery forms part of a smart cities plan, moving demand away from road vehicle operators towards back-end control of autonomous or semi-autonomous drones.A combination of network technologies and AI enable the rapidly growing digital platforms that already connect millions of consumers, merchants and couriers in real time. These platforms use AI to balance supply and demand in real time, optimize routing and incentivize design, enabling new ways for goods to move through cities and transforming how flexible work is organized. These platforms will continue to transform the logistics workforce, creating a clear income stream for self-contracted labour but with prices, tasks and performance incentives increasingly driven by automated systems. Sensing technology is also factored into these platforms, with data on speed, braking and driving patterns triggering real-time alerts in an effort to enhance safety. These efficiency-enhancing technologies come with risks and uncertainties, including how to provide algorithmic transparency while protecting intellectual property, ensuring inclusivity and sustainability, and avoiding digital exclusion.2.5 Transport and logistics 7% of the world’s workers are in the transport and logistics workforce. 11 Jobs of Tomorrow: Technology and the Future of the World’s Largest Workforces

Jobs of Tomorrow Technology and the Future of the Worlds Largest Workforces 2025