The Harsh Truth: Skills Beat Talent — And Children Without Them Lose

If it feels like the future job market changes every time you blink… you’re not imagining it. But there’s also no need to panic.

Every year, the World Economic Forum publishes the Future of Jobs Report, a big-picture look at how work is evolving globally. The 2025 edition brings together insights from 1,000+ leading employers, representing 14+ million workers across 22 industry clusters and 55 economies, and asks a simple question: what trends are reshaping jobs, and what skills will matter most through 2030? 

Some of the numbers can sound drastic at first glance — so let’s break them down in a parent-friendly way, without the doom.

The report forecasts significant movement in the labour market by 2030: 170 million jobs are expected to be created (14%) and 92 million displaced (8%), which adds up to 22% structural churn in the dataset being studied. (World Economic Forum)

That doesn’t mean “22% of people will be unemployed.” It means the mix of roles and tasks is changing. Some jobs will grow, some will shrink, and many will be redesigned — often because of new tools and new expectations. In other words: the world of work is shifting, but it’s also adapting.

One of the clearest messages in the report is that technology is no longer “just for tech jobs.” It’s becoming part of how every industry operates.

Employers rank broadening digital access as the most transformative trend overall, with 60% expecting it to reshape their business by 2030. At the same time, AI and information processing technologies are expected to be transformative for 86% of employers, and robots and autonomous systems for 58%. (World Economic Forum)

For parents, the takeaway is straightforward: whether your child becomes a doctor, teacher, designer, entrepreneur, engineer — or something that doesn’t exist yet — they’ll likely need to feel comfortable around digital tools, data-informed thinking, and AI-powered systems. That’s why tech literacy is starting to look a lot like reading literacy: not a “nice extra,” but a basic skill that supports everything else.

The report shows two trends happening side by side.

On the growth side, technology-related roles are the fastest-growing in percentage terms, including jobs like Big Data Specialists, FinTech Engineers, AI and Machine Learning Specialists, and Software and Applications Developers. Green and energy-transition roles also show up strongly among fast growers, such as Environmental Engineers and Renewable Energy Engineers.

On the decline side, employers expect the fastest-declining roles to include many clerical and routine administrative jobs, such as Cashiers and Ticket Clerks, Administrative Assistants and Executive Secretaries, and Data Entry Clerks. The report links a large part of this decline to the same drivers that are transforming businesses overall: expanding digital access, AI-driven information processing, and automation.

This is the part that can sound scary — but it actually leads to the most empowering conclusion for parents:

Even in a growing job market overall, the skills inside roles are shifting quickly. The report estimates that, on average, workers can expect 39% of their existing skills to be transformed or become outdated between 2025 and 2030.  (World Economic Forum)

So rather than trying to guess which job your child should aim for at age 8, 12, or 15, it’s far more useful to build the kind of skills that travel well across careers — the skills that help them learn new tools, adapt to change, and solve problems confidently.

The report is very clear on what those “portable” skills are.

Analytical thinking remains the most sought-after core skill, with 7 out of 10 companies considering it essential. (World Economic Forum) This is the skill behind problem-solving, logical reasoning, and “figuring it out” when the answer isn’t obvious — and it’s valuable whether your child ends up in medicine, business, design, science, or education.

Employers also expect technology-related skills to grow rapidly, with AI and big data at the top of the fastest-growing skills, followed closely by networks and cybersecurity and technological literacy. The important nuance here is that “tech literacy” doesn’t mean turning every child into a programmer. It means helping them understand the digital world well enough to use it creatively, safely, and thoughtfully.

Right near the top, the report highlights resilience, flexibility and agility — because modern work is increasingly about learning, updating, and trying again. Kids who practice persistence and “debugging” their thinking are building a real career advantage — without ever needing to hear the phrase “career advantage.”

If tech is becoming part of every job, then the goal isn’t to push children into one narrow path. The goal is to help them become confident learners in a digital world: children who can break problems into steps, stay calm when something doesn’t work, and create with technology instead of only consuming it.

That’s exactly why learning environments like AI, coding, and creative tech can be so powerful for children. Done the right way, they’re not “extra screen time.” They’re structured opportunities to practice analytical thinking, tech literacy, and resilience — the same skill trio the report keeps pointing to as future-proof.

At Logiscool, we use AI, coding, and creative technology as a playful, age-appropriate way to build these transferable skills early — not because every child needs a tech job, but because every child will live and work in a tech-shaped world.

The future really is changing fast. You’re not imagining it. But the good news is: you don’t need to predict your child’s job title to prepare them. You just need to help them build the skills that help them thrive in any future.

Sources:

 https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/digest/