As global economies work to regain their footholds amid the coronavirus pandemic, some professions have maintained their workforces and show growth potential.
By Mary Anne Thompson, founder, and president, GoinGlobal, Inc.
Global workforce solutions company ManpowerGroup recently surveyed 34,000 employers across 43 countries asking whether they intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in 2020’s third quarter. According to the report, weaker hiring intentions were found in all 43 countries compared with this time last year.
The great shift being found across the world in economies and workforces is due to the coronavirus pandemic’s impact and the resultant uncertainty of the near future. There are bright spots in the global workforce, however. According to Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup chairman and CEO:
“We believe this crisis will accelerate transformation that we have been tracking and predicting for some time. Employers will continue to require increasingly specific technical and soft skills, digitization will accelerate, and individuals will demand a way of working that is closer to what they have wanted all along – more inclusive, more flexible and more wellbeing-oriented than we could ever have imagined.”
The changes in the way we work may be one positive outcome of the global health crisis. Another could be the professions that have held steady and even shown job promise. As GoinGlobal’s experts report on economic and jobs updates around the world, they continue to find similar areas of job promise in most major countries. Here is but a snapshot of five countries.
Switzerland
Switzerland’s employers are seeking highly skilled, well-educated workers. Banks, and finance and insurance firms are hiring. Trust and fiduciary services, financial analysts, auditors, and tax experts are in demand. Swiss banking giant UBS announced it will be hiring to support the sector during the COVID-19 crisis. Approximately 300 recent finance graduates and mid-career employees will be hired during 2020.
The country’s health care industry has a global reputation for innovation. Doctors, nurses, anesthetists, medical technicians, and pharmacists are currently being hired.
Only 3,000 Swiss university technology graduates enter the country’s workforce each year. That’s less than half of the current demand. The country is continuing its goal of accelerating digitization in the workforce. IT and digital entertainment employers are hiring. Foreign nationals with work experience and fluency in English, German, and French are in demand. Data, digitalization, and e-commerce specialists will be sought after once the current crisis is over.
Singapore
Despite the pandemic, the IT sector is doing well and even grew between the months of January and March, creating 1,100 jobs. This includes the fields of e-commerce, video conferencing solutions, logistics, insurance, and financial technology.
The government is creating more than 5,000 IT jobs in fields such as cybersecurity, digital marketing, and data analytics. Companies are also encouraged to adopt digital solutions, such as e-commerce platforms, and are receiving financial incentives from the government.
Singapore is well positioned to be a supply chain hub. Workers with an international outlook and supply chain and procurement skills will be in demand.
Italy
The sectors that actually managed to grow despite the pandemic include communications services, pharmaceutical and therapeutic products, and care and support services.
Pharma and health care together with ICT and telecommunications sectors will keep on registering a positive outlook also in the near future.
Other professions that are currently sought after in Italy are: nurses, doctors, educators; insurance and banking professionals; sales professionals, digital marketing professionals, call center agents; public administration professionals; logistics, retail, supply chain and e-commerce professionals; IT, electro-mechanical engineers, and telecommunications and digital media professionals.
China
While many businesses suffered economic hardship during COVID-19, health care, e-commerce, and online education flourished and witnessed incredible growth.
Health care jobs saw a 30% increase in demand since the beginning of the year, with the job application rate increasing by 1.47%.
Jobs such as blockchain operators, nutrition advisors, health assistants, live streamers, and nucleic acid testers have also become more popular.
Online education, seen as essential during the lockdown, is also flourishing with Tomorrow Advancing Life (TAL) hiring 20,000 online teachers worldwide since the beginning of COVID. Online education could be a niche worth exploring for employees living inside, but also outside China.
The real driving force of job creation in China is new and young businesses, such as start-ups and medtech companies. Jobs connected to new technologies, innovation, the internet, and the digital economy are highly sought after. Internet-related professions, for instance, saw a 60% surge in hiring during the pandemic.
India
The government is focusing on manufacturing as a way to get the country out of the economic slump. It is also providing support to migrant workers, many of whom were working in the country’s large cities but returned home during lockdown, by creating temporary jobs in their villages. The migrant exodus has created staffing shortages for businesses in urban areas that are eager to restart operations.
General skills in demand in a post-COVID-19 work environment include becoming skilled in digital communications and, for managers, learning how to lead teams remotely.
The pandemic has made certain IT skills more attractive. These include expertise in internet of things (IoT), data science and big data analytics, cloud computing, automation, and social/mobile platforms. It is expected that some mechanical functions will be automated, but new roles will be created, such as social distance consultant.
Roles in demand include java and .net java developer, test analyst, and sales manager.
Some sectors have not been as affected by the pandemic and are still hiring. These include pharmaceuticals, health care, global development centers, education, financial services, and IT.
The food industry desperately needs workers for delivery. Other sectors needing workers include e-commerce, hygiene and safety, computer manufacturers, and online education.
Conclusion
Though the world is far from putting the COVID-19 pandemic behind it, there are job sectors that have managed to flourish during this difficult time. Around the globe the needs are similar: health care workers from aides to doctors to aid the sick; IT and telecommunication professionals to help workforces work and shop remotely, and supply chain and logistics experts to help countries organize how to best serve their people’s needs for food and other services. These are just a few examples of the commonalities experienced as we all grapple with the realities of a changing world.
Follow @goinglobal Tweet to @goinglobal
