Davos 2023: WEF says reskilling of workforce can add $8.3 trillion to the global economy

The World Economic Forum has said that under its Reskilling Revolution initiative, 350 million people have been provided with better skills, jobs, and education. The intergovernmental body said that the skilling of the current and future workforce can add up to $8.3 trillion to the global economy by 2030. 

The Reskilling Revolution initiative, which was set up two years back by the WEF, is a coalition of 50 CEOs, 25 ministers and 350 organisations, and is committed to realising these gains for their economies, societies and organisations. The WEF has said that the reskilling initiative can prepare 1 billion people for tomorrow's economy. 

The initiative has brought together a wide network of national-level country accelerators in 12 countries -- Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Georgia, Greece, India, Oman, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, with knowledge support from Denmark, Finland, Singapore and Switzerland. 

“In an era of multiple disruptions to the labour market -- the pandemic, supply chain changes, the green transition, technological transformation -- the one 'no regret' investment all governments and business can make is in education, reskilling and upskilling. It is the best pathway to expanding opportunity, enhancing social mobility and accelerating future growth," said Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. 

Under the initiative, LinkedIn and Microsoft have committed to train and certify 10 million additional learners in essential tech roles. They are also helping 80 million others learn new skills for digital roles since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the iamtheCODE’s pledge, one million women and girls are being trained as coders across Africa and globally by 2030. 

A new World Economic Forum analysis, in collaboration with Accenture, finds that an additional 76 million jobs in green and social sectors are needed by 2030 in 10 economies alone: Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 

“Skills development and lifelong learning improve the employability of workers, moving them into productive and decent work and helping to tackle inequalities. They also increase the productivity of enterprises through better quality and relevant training. The International Labour Organization welcomes the achievements of the Reskilling Revolution – another step in the quest for decent work and social justice,” said Gilbert F Houngbo, Director General, International Labour Organization. 

“The Reskilling Revolution was timely when the Forum launched the initiative three years ago and it is now even more urgent. On the one hand, technology improves people’s lives and creates a more connected world; on the other it contributes to growing polarization between those with the skills to take advantage of digitization and those without. As tech adoption continues at pace, increasing people’s employability and providing them with greater control of their prosperity and earning potential is critical to creating a future that is better for the many, not the few,” said Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO, ManpowerGroup.