Tech and COVID have transformed how we work: here's what to expect from the Jobs Reset Summit

For years we have worried about technology taking our jobs. We now have COVID-19 transforming the way we work and causing a global recession that is putting millions of jobs at risk.

So it's a timely moment to bring stakeholders and experts from around the world together to look at how we can 'reset' the world of work in the face of these challenges.

That is what is happening at the World Economic Forum's Jobs Reset Summit on 20-23 October.

The World Economic Forum estimates that in five years from now machines will be doing as much work as humans. That means millions of jobs will be displaced.

The good news is that "the number of jobs that are expected to be created through the integration of technology still remains higher than the number of jobs that will be displaced," said World Economic Forum Managing Director Saadia Zahidi.

So millions of people will have to change what they do for a living, and even those that don't are likely to have to adopt new skills.

"Whether you require re-skilling or up-skilling or not in every single job there is the expectation that at least 40% of the core skills in that job are going to change. Now that is a massive number for most of us to absorb.

"It basically means that five years from now roughly half of what we're doing is going to look different in terms of the tasks that we do."

The Jobs Reset Summit will cover four themes over the four days:

Day 1 - Economic Growth, Revival and Transformation
Day 2 - Work, Wages and Job Creation
Day 3 - Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning
Day 4 - Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice

And the Forum will be publishing four new insights and reports: a World Economic Forum and Ipsos survey on jobs, a "dashboard for new economy" that looks at macroeconomic targets beyond GDP growth, an analysis of the "markets of tomorrow" where tech and social innovation are driving growth, and the "Future of Jobs Report 2020," featuring a survey of employers on automation, skills and workplace trends.

More than 1,200 participants, including more than 440 business leaders and 25 public figures, from 115 countries will participate in more than 30 sessions and workshops.

Chairing the sessions, most of which will be streamed live for the public are: Alan Jope, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever; Jonas Prising, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Manpower; Angel Gurria, Secretary-General, OECD; Ray Dalio, Founder, Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer, Bridgewater; Achim Steiner, Administrator, UNDP; Guy Ryder, Director-General, ILO; Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, ITUC; C. Vijayakumar President and Chief Executive Officer, HCL Technologies; Geraldine Matchett, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, DSM; Alain Dehaze, Chief Executive Officer, Adecco; Henrietta Fore, Executive Director, UNICEF; Salil Parekh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Infosys; Caroline Casey, Founder and Director, Valuable 500; Jo Ann Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer, AARP; and Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Rock Creek.