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

3Workforce transformations and further work by the Global Future Council Transformative technologies present both opportunities and risks, requiring tailored actions to maximize benefits. This section reviews how transformative technology applications could impact each of the seven key workforces and identifies opportunities and risks. This assessment will guide the remainder of the Global Future Council on Jobs and Frontier Technologies’ term, identifying actions for employers, governments and researchers to boost productivity and expand job opportunities. Clear opportunities exist to enhance the productivity of the agriculture workforce, where there is capacity to invest in new technologies like precision agriculture and drone harvesting. Often, this will be in higher-income economies where agriculture represents a smaller proportion of the total workforce and where worker shortages are often a concern. Globally, reaping the potential benefits of technology for the agriculture workforce requires enhanced technological dispersion to areas that may currently lack the investment capacity. The manufacturing sector has played a key role in the economic development of many countries and has significant diversity across the region, industry and income levels. As transformative technologies reshape the manufacturing workforce, new comparative advantages could shift the geography of jobs, while differing investment capacity could also shape the speed at which workforces transform. Enabling higher-productivity jobs will require industry, geographic and economic analysis to understand the potential actions stakeholders need to take to shape the future of the global manufacturing workforce. Transformative technologies could enhance productivity and safety for the construction workforce, while the less predictable nature of worksites means large scale automation is less likely here than in manufacturing. Roles are still likely to evolve, however, with increasing demand for semi-automated machinery skills and technician capabilities. Changing methods of construction, such as prefabricated buildings, could also alter the nature of the construction workforce, although it’s unclear how much of the workforce is likely to be impacted. Enhancing the benefits of transformative technology in the construction workforce will require further development of technologies alongside efforts to boost adoption. Opportunities for the retail, wholesale and logistics workforces are inherently linked. There are significant opportunities to increase access to markets and jobs, especially for small business owners in lower-income economies where distribution network structures may be more changeable. There are also efficiency opportunities with improved routing, new delivery methods and direct access to consumers. A key risk will be the level of control and gains accrued by the network owners, as the workforce – often constituting micro-enterprise owners – will be reliant on B2B and business-to-consumer (B2C) platforms. The future of the business and management workforce will be substantially shaped by technology development and adoption choices. As agentic AI, in particular, is developed to take on more tasks, employers will decide whether to adopt it for cost savings or to enhance business capability. These decisions will be influenced by the focus areas of technology developers. To ensure benefits are realized, an understanding of the potential capabilities of these technologies and how they operate within the workforce will be important. Global healthcare worker shortages,21 alongside unmet healthcare needs, mean potential productivity gains are unlikely to be offset by large reductions in demand for healthcare workers. To realize the potential benefits for this workforce, stakeholders will need to source finance for initial investments and ensure policies enable technology to be integrated into healthcare work programmes. Reaping the potential benefits of technology for the agriculture workforce requires enhanced technological dispersion to areas that may currently lack the investment capacity. Jobs of Tomorrow: Technology and the Future of the World’s Largest Workforces 13