The Reskilling Revolution: 350 Million People Reached with Future-Ready Skills, Education and Jobs

Public.Affairs@weforum.org

Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 17 January 2023 – The World Economic Forum today announced that more than 350 million people are being reached with better skills, jobs and education through commitments made as part of its Reskilling Revolution initiative, three years after launching at its Annual Meeting in Davos. Working with more than 20 governments, 60 global chief executives and a network of over 350 organizations, the Reskilling Revolution is preparing 1 billion people for tomorrow's economy and society by 2030.

To date, 310 million people are being reached through 110 commitments made by businesses and governments, representing innovative and best-in-class education and workforce skilling initiatives. An additional 40 million people are being reached through a network of national Skills and Education Accelerators in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Georgia, Greece, India, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. At this year’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Italy announced its intention to collaborate on establishing an Education Accelerator.

From LinkedIn and Microsoft’s commitment to train and certify 10 million additional learners in essential tech roles while helping 80 million others learn new skills for digital roles since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, to iamtheCODE’s pledge to train 1 million women and girls as coders across Africa and globally by 2030, the Reskilling Revolution is tackling the global skills gap through a wide range of innovative commitments.

“With 1.1 billion jobs likely to be radically transformed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, supply chain shifts and the energy transition, workers need support on reskilling and upskilling, while the younger generation needs future-ready education. The Reskilling Revolution is bringing together government, business and educators to drive this transformation,” said Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum.

Coinciding with the three-year anniversary of the initiative’s launch, members of the Reskilling Revolution are convening this week at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, to evaluate impact and progress achieved as well as agree on next steps for priority action. The Education 4.0 Alliance, a multistakeholder group advancing global education reform and more inclusive and innovative learning environments, will also be meeting and launching a new interactive education 4.0 taxonomy and unveiling 16 finalists selected as education lighthouses, examples of the most innovative and forward-looking education initiatives.

From Education and Skills to the Jobs of Tomorrow

Leaders of the Jobs Consortium are using this week’s Annual Meeting to propel initiatives to create good jobs, enable transitions between these jobs, improve the quality of jobs and wages and generate better foresight on emerging jobs.

While technological shifts, geo-economic pressures, demographic changes and the green transition are creating jobs and skills churn, there is also opportunity for new job creation. 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.

The Forum’s Good Work Alliance has published metrics and reporting guidelines building on the Good Work Framework to help companies establish a benchmark for job quality by providing a consistent and goal-oriented approach. In addition, the Refugee Employment and Employability Initiative, launched last year, will publish a new briefing paper, Enabling the Economic Integration of Refugees: Lessons Learned on Refugee Employment and Employability from the Rapid Response to Ukraine.

Since February 2022, over 8 million refugees from Ukraine have crossed borders into neighbouring countries. The publication highlights lessons learned that can be scaled up and applied to the millions of others displaced globally.

What leaders are saying

“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,” Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO, ManpowerGroup

“At LinkedIn, our analysis of real-time labour market trends allows us to unlock unique insights that can inform decisions to make workplaces fairer, more inclusive and equitable. Through our collaboration with the World Economic Forum, we can leverage these insights to create a better future of work for everyone,” Allen Blue, Co-Founder and Vice-President, Products, LinkedIn

“Recruit is a growing technology company committed to connecting people to job opportunities around the world in a faster, simpler and more human way. We look forward to contributing to the World Economic Forum's Job Consortium and sharing meaningful labour market insights that help drive towards a world where all may prosper together,” Hisayuki “Deko” Idekoba, President and CEO, Recruit Holdings

“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,” Gilbert F Houngbo, Director General, International Labour Organization

"Companies must recognize that skills are the new building blocks of accessing, creating and unlocking talent. Accelerating technologies are rapidly changing the skills required to drive business results—increased up skilling, continuous learning, apprenticeships and community partnerships are essential to create a more dynamic, inclusive and innovative workforce,"
Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO, Accenture

“Amidst rapid technological developments in the world of work, creating an inclusive labour market where no one is left behind is one of the top priorities of the Dutch government in the coming years. By strengthening public-private cooperation through the framework of the Jobs Consortium, I am convinced we can take great steps towards achieving this goal,” Karien van Gennip, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, Netherlands

"The Reskilling Revolution Initiative has helped millions of underemployed people access the skills and credentials needed to enter new digital careers – but we’ve only just begun. The pandemic, automation and globalization have fundamentally reshaped the labour market and collective action from public and private sectors will be crucial to ensuring everyone has equal access to opportunity in the digital economy, no matter where they are,” Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO, Coursera

About the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 will convene the world’s foremost leaders under the theme, Cooperation in a Fragmented World. Find out more about the Annual Meeting 2023 here.

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