Navigating the current landscape
There are several converging global trends and challenges currently having a significant impact on businesses and the workforce in general, and likely to be with us for some time:
Geopolitical and economic volatility.
- Rising costs, wildly shifting tariff disputes and the resulting potential for further slowdowns and inflation could disrupt global supply chains and displace large numbers of jobs.
- Employers experiencing significant trade disruption may be more likely to consider offshoring or reshoring operations.
- Thriving through economic uncertainty increases the need for creative thinking, resilience, agility and innovation.
Workforce demographic and priority shifts.
- The largest ever proportion of the global workforce is now reaching retirement age in higher-income economies, while an expanding working-age population is growing in lower-income economies.
- Employees are increasingly looking for flexibility in where and how they work, and to work for organizations that align with their core values and provide opportunities for development and growth.
- Many in the expanding working-age populations are looking for better economic and career development opportunities and are willing to move for them.
Technological disruption.
- Rapid advancements are having the dual effect of driving both the fastest growing and fastest declining roles.
- Fast-paced progression fuels greater demand for new types of digital literacy and evolving technological skills.
- At the same time, as technology bolsters efficiencies in many areas of business, it drives greater demand for developing the much more human-centric skills we reviewed in Phase 1, like analytical thinking, creative problem solving, resilience and leadership.
An article published in Forbes on the most in-demand skills for 2025 by futurist and author Bernard Marr sums the current landscape up well: “As machines master routine tasks, the value of irreplicable human traits will skyrocket.”
What do these developments mean for talent mobility specifically?
Despite some challenges, the need for moving talent must remain an integral part of organizations’ strategic plans. Why?
- Different assignment types can facilitate training in both new tech skills and help boost the more human-centric expertise in such high demand. What better way to cultivate agility, resilience and problem solving than to experience living, working and adapting to a different culture?
- As larger numbers of highly experienced employees exit the workforce, companies need to find ways to capture knowledge transfer while investing in building future leaders / succession planning as we outlined in Phase 1.
- Businesses can fill talent gaps by tapping into growing economies with a workforce eager to foster new skills and experience global assignments.
