We have entered a period of new normal where life hinges around co-existing with Covid. Now that the effects of the virus are better understood, the work environment is set to change to protect people from the highly infectious disease. This factor will be the prime mover for the future of job roles. Faster evolution of technology & automation will provide the solution to social distancing norms & this is the area around which new roles will develop. Technology has come as a saviour to the pandemic curveball that has brought global economies to their knees.  Among other things, technology will allow people to work & shop from the comfort of their homes & enable governments to monitor and take targeted action to curb the spread of the virus.

The segments that will flourish in the immediate future will be ecommerce, insurance, gaming, OTT Services, logistics, cyber security, IT Services, healthcare services, digital marketing, business data analytics, project management software & Ed-tech. In addition to these, microbiology & biotech will see a spike as will virtual tourism & demand for doctors & healthcare workers. IT domain & R&D too will be key job creators. Work-from-home, virtual meetings & online classes have already become the order of the day. 

As per the World Economic Forum, 35% of current essential skills will become redundant in the next 2 years. To fill the increasing technical skill gap urgently, a “New Collar” worker is emerging – one that develops the technical and soft skills needed to work in technology jobs through non-traditional education paths. These workers may not have a degree from college and instead will be trained through community colleges, vocational schools, technical certification programs, high school technical education and on-the job internships.

Some of the roles these will fulfil will be Cloud Administrator, Cyber Security Architect, Service Delivery Analyst etc. 

With the sudden spur in digital transformation, the areas where greater job opportunities are likely to open up in the next few months are:

DATA: 

Globally data usage is increasing by 38 percent year-on-year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The demand for data engineers, data analysts, data scientists and Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence engineers is expected to go up quickly.

CLOUD:

The Public Cloud has emerged as the backbone of all IT infrastructure. The COVID pandemic is likely to accelerate cloud migration, creating greater demand for cloud architects and cloud IT admins

CYBER SECURITY:

With ‘remote working’ becoming the norm, company data is even more at risk. With people relying more on personal or less secure wi-fi networks, the threat levels have increased. With cybersecurity becoming more critical, there will be a great demand for security architects and ethical hackers.

DIGITAL MARKETING:

With more people consuming information online, digital marketing has become a lifeline for Marketing Leaders as they seek to reduce marketing spends & achieve greater return on investments and follow their customers online. In turn, this will result in greater demand for pay-per-click practitioners, digital brand managers, content & SEO experts, CRM and email marketing specialists.

BUSINESS ANALYST:

As businesses accelerate the shift to digital, digital channels will become increasingly mainstream across sectors such as retail, education, healthcare, and others. As the demand for digital goes up, it will result in greater demand for Business Analysts. 

A disruptive change is coming on the work front. As one adapts to the changes in their personal lives, future-proofing your career is absolutely critical. Gaining digital skills is one way to keep your career on a secure & growth path.