WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM – Rapid workforce changes and static training systems are widening global employment gaps, according to experts at the World Economic Forum’s 2025 New Champions Meeting.
Joanna Riley, CEO of Censia, warned that “skills gaps are today’s defining workforce challenge,” and failure to act risks entrenching inequality and long-term joblessness.
Nearly 40% of current core job skills will become obsolete by 2030, the Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 found, citing data from global employers.
Despite this, 63% of companies say skills shortages remain the biggest barrier to business transformation, highlighting systemic inaction and outdated national frameworks.
Riley argued, “Outdated systems like static taxonomies can’t meet exponential change,” adding that countries need AI-driven, real-time skills intelligence to respond effectively.
She stressed that skills must be seen “not as currency, but as infrastructure,” essential to long-term economic resilience, innovation and mobility.
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Countries like Lithuania and Bahrain face up to 87% skill disruption, far higher than Denmark’s 29%, due to regional instability and outdated policy tools.
The article recommends transitioning from skills identification to empowerment, actively building capabilities, using AI and machine learning to make fragmented data actionable.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Skills Taxonomy Toolkit urges nations to standardize skills verification and embed real-time tracking into labor systems.
Such changes, Riley noted, will help match workers with new roles, “using validated data to direct talent to where it’s needed most.”
Without swift adoption of intelligent, adaptable systems, experts warn that outdated frameworks could further entrench underemployment, stifle growth and increase economic fragility.