Trends shaping the future job market
Inspiration for the tool
Participants of the Innovation Factory
Rationale: Why is this needed?
We want to show young people that climate change is one of the key challenges of the future world – and therefore also of the job market.
Objectives
By the end of the activity, participants will be able to:
- describe multiple trends that will shape the job market of the future,
- reflect on the consequences of these trends for the job market.
Resources needed
- Cut-out cards with future trends and their short descriptions.
Activities
- Warm-up – discussion with students and introduction to the topic
- How has the world changed over the past 30 years? What trends have shaped the recent past?
- How do you think the world will change in the next 30 years?
- How will these trends impact the job market, and how might they affect your future?
- Group exercise: future job market trends
The facilitator divides the class into groups. Each group draws a card (or a few cards) with one trend and its brief description, for example:
- Aging societies / Silver tsunami – People are living longer, and there are more older people than young people.
- Energy transition – The world is moving away from coal and oil to cleaner energy sources like wind and solar.
- Mental health crises – More people are struggling with stress, anxiety, and depression.
- Robo-(co)workers – Robots and artificial intelligence are helping people with work.
- Functional illiteracy – Even though many people can read and write, some struggle to understand complex texts, financial documents, or digital tools.
- Circular economy & waste reduction – instead of throwing things away, the future will focus on reusing materials and reducing waste.
- Climate change – The planet is getting warmer, leading to extreme weather, wildfires, and rising sea levels, which creates demand for new skills and roles focused on resilience and sustainability.
- Water and food shortages – freshwater and food might become harder to access in some parts of the world.
- Cybersecurity risks – more of our lives are online, so protecting personal data and important systems from hackers is a big challenge.
- Global migration & refugee support – wars, climate disasters, and economic problems will force people to move to new countries.
Students discuss the trend by answering the following questions:
- How will this trend impact the job market in the next 10-15 years?
- What professions and skills will become essential? What professions will arise?
After completing their discussion, each group presents their findings to the class.
Reflections/Consolidation of learning
- Which of the discussed trends seem the most interesting / the most dangerous / affecting the largest group of people to you?
- What other trends might emerge that we haven’t discussed?
- How does what we discussed in class influence your career choices?