The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2020 indicates some jobs will disappear and others will emerge as the world faces a dual disruption. The report, now in its third edition, maps the jobs and skills of the future, tracking the pace of change based on surveys of business leaders and human resource strategists from around the world. The robot revolution will create 97 million new jobs. As the economy and job markets evolve, new roles will emerge across the care economy in technology fields (such as artificial intelligence—AI) and in content creation careers (such as social media management and content writing). Some of the new jobs becoming popular include; freelance web development, virtual assistance, design maintenance, podcast, freelance writing, self-publishing, among others. For the podcast, one of the most successful and popular podcasters is John Lee Dumas, who built a business from USD 0 to USD 250,000 per month from his ‘Entrepreneur On Fire’ podcast. Experts say there is a thriving online marketplace for selling and buying of websites, a practice that is also known as flipping e-commerce—which is the selling and buying of goods and services over the internet and blogging. Blogs are informational websites where writers share their views on subjects of their choice. Festus Irungu Ndirangu, a lecturer at Mount Kenya University, is of the view that the internet has transformed the way we do business. It has opened up borders and removed limitations on what you can do and achieve based on geographical regions or financial resources. “With a computer, an internet connection, and a personal drive, there is little that can stand in the way of you making an income online,” he says. The lecturer is quick to point out that this doesn’t mean that we now ignore traditional careers such as medicine, nursing, law, teaching, and farming, among many others. He notes that the job market becomes increasingly ‘gig’ oriented. A gig as a consultancy—a specific short-term assignment. He explains that the gig economy is driven by the availability of the internet, adding that times have changed and the future belongs to innovation. “People will need retraining for their core skills. Remote work is here to stay, so we will need to find ways to monitor productivity,” he notes. What to consider Prince Aime Lionel Murara, the deputy national coordinator in charge of operations and partnership in Education for Nations and Humanitarian Africa (ENHA)-Girubuntu, believes that with the changing world, it is now becoming a must for people to be flexible and grab any opportunity that surfaces in the digital world. He mentions that one good example of doing this is by looking for viable businesses that allow you to be your own boss, by simply using internet. “It’s easier than ever before to start an online business even without any formal education or business experience,” he says. One good example, he says, is trying out digital marketing. Murara explains that as digital content and digital marketing demand continue to grow, many businesses can’t afford a full digital marketing department. As such, he says, they would likely tend to reach out to digital marketing firms. Depending on the field one is in, he says, at some point, one may need to take some online courses in digital marketing, which he believes don’t take long for one to get the required knowledge. Claude Uwizeyimana, a filmmaker and founder of Innovation Business Techno Ledge College (IBTC) in Kigali, says those with knowledge in video and film production, using this opportunity to start something around online video production can be a huge advantage. He notes that first of all, videos are a great marketing tool, and if you can master that type of content creation, you’ll have no shortage of clients to work with. Uwizeyimana adds that what is required is to just combine the online video production with social media management. This, he says, will allow one to be much more marketable, therefore earn money from it. The importance Ndirangu believes that tapping into these new opportunities is vital because the alternative sources of employment have been created through this. Also, he notes that future jobs offer flexibility and choice in an area one is passionate about. However, he points out that the internet connectivity, bandwidth, and cybercrime are some of the major challenges that come with future jobs. Meanwhile, Uwizeyimana says the good thing about tapping into these new opportunities is because it helps you learn new things and skills every day. He says that it helps one to continuously look for new information and stay on top of industry news and trends always.
