The rise of tech is currently transforming the labour market,
leading to the automation of some jobs and tasks on the one hand and the
emergence of new kinds on the other. Proactively preparing for this new reality
requires an in-depth, granular understanding of these changes and their impact
on jobs and employment. LinkedIn data is able to provide additional insight on
this by taking a skills-based approach to labour-market analysis.
Skills
are the new currency on the labour market. Skills indicate demand and supply at
a more nuanced level than occupations, whose required expertise and skills are
changing increasingly quickly, and degrees, which are often already outdated by
the time they are obtained. The current pace of change requires following the
direction of a skills-based, rather than degree-based labor market, which is a
much more dynamic variable. Using skills as a variable of analysis provides a
powerful tool in helping policymakers prepare for the future while building
resilience in the present day.
Based on
these shifts, LinkedIn has developed the Skills Genome -- a new metric, which
allows us to harness that analytical power to gain a more granular
understanding of labour market trends and developments. Using skills
information provided by LinkedIn’s Economic Graph, a digital representation of
the global economy based on data generated from 630 million members with more
than 35,000 skills globally, the metric allows us to define and analyse the
unique skills profile of various segments of the labor market. We can use it to
identify those skills that are more prevalent in one segment compared to
others. These segments can include a geography (e.g. a city), an industry, a
job type (e.g. data scientists), or a population (e.g. women).
In
China, for example, we examined the dynamics of digital skills across two of
the most economically active and open regions: Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao
Greater Bay Area and Yangtze River Delta. In a report on digital economy
and talent development in the former, we found that China's Greater
Bay Area has an overall net inflow of talent equipped with digital skills, and
Shenzhen is a digital talent hub in the Greater Bay Area. We also found that
talent in the region mainly majored in finance and technical fields of study,
and possesses general-purpose skills such as project management and leadership,
with a relatively low level of integration of digital skills. Soft skills like
management, leadership and negotiation rank higher in this region, regardless
of high-level talents or digital talents.
In a
similar report for the
Yangtze River Delta Region, we found that Shanghai plays an
important role in training and developing junior-level talent with diversified
skills to support other regions. We also found that the top 10 fastest growing
positions in the past four years are all considered intermediate and senior
management positions covering customer service, marketing, finance, products,
operations and other functions. Skills that have seen the sharpest increase can
be divided into four categories: (1) functional skills such as marketing and
customer service; (2) soft-power skills such as leadership; (3) digital skills
such as social media; and (4) value-added skills such as English. The
categories of skills indicate that the Yangtze River Delta region is
increasingly open to the wider world and has become increasingly linked to
digital opportunities.
Findings like these are increasingly
valuable as our society prepares for the future of work. Policymakers may want
to use these skills profiles to determine future career paths for people in occupations
declining in popularity. Education and training providers will be able to align
curricula to the emerging skills trends. And as diversity becomes a more
critical objective, skills profiles of members of different backgrounds can
inform efforts to close gaps and reduce barriers.
Source: World Economic Forum