The future of work: how to prepare the class of 2030 for tomorrow’s careers

Global research suggests that up to 40% of current jobs could be significantly transformed or displaced as automation, artificial intelligence (AI), climate change, demographic shifts and economic uncertainty reshape how work gets done.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 estimates that while 170 million new jobs may be created globally by 2030, around 92 million will be displaced – resulting in net job growth only if people are able to adapt, upskill and pivot.

In article one of this Invest-ED series, we looked at the future skills parents can encourage in their children to better equip them for a new working world. In this article, we examine new emerging careers and evolving traditional careers. 

The roles of tomorrow

What might those new roles look like? Which sectors are likely to grow? And how can they be relevant to young South Africans?

LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise 2026 report highlights the 25 fastest-growing knowledge roles in the US – based on job transitions from 2023 to mid-2025 – and shows which careers are gaining traction as companies adopt new technologies and rethink how work gets done.

The LinkedIn report shows that the fastest-growing roles are heavily concentrated in AI and related fields, reflecting that organisations increasingly need people who can build, manage and apply AI tools, not just use them.

At the same time, strategic and adaptive roles such as independent consultants and founders feature prominently, pointing to a broader shift toward self-directed, entrepreneurial work as professionals respond to uncertainty and changing organisational structures.

LinkedIn’s data also shows that growth is not limited to technical specialisations. Healthcare-adjacent roles and new forms of sales and advisory work appear on the list, underlining that human-centred expertise, judgement and relationship skills remain essential even as automation accelerates.

Taken together, these trends suggest that future job demand will favour a blend of technical fluency, strategic thinking and adaptability, rather than narrow task-based skills alone.

This shift is already playing out inside organisations, says Lesley-Anne Gatter, Investec’s Global Head of People and Organisation, as roles evolve from execution to oversight and judgement.

“We’ve seen people moving from copywriters to editors – in a metaphorical and literal sense. Now instead of having to write and research, people are able to oversee content, edit it, and implant different thinking into it. That frees them to be far more strategic than task-focused all the time.” 

The most in-demand jobs in South Africa

Global “jobs of the future” lists offer useful signals about where knowledge-based careers are heading, particularly for learners considering international study or work. But they don’t tell the full story of where demand is strongest locally.

To understand which roles employers in South Africa are struggling to fill, it’s important to look at local labour market data.

The Department of Higher Education and Training’s National List of Occupations in High Demand 2024, which identifies 350 occupations across the economy, paints a broader picture:

Around 60% of high-demand roles are professional and knowledge-based, while nearly 40% are trade, technical or operational occupations – underscoring the diversity of demand across the economy.

While professional and management roles dominate the list, trades form the second-largest category. This highlights that labour demand extends beyond narrow definitions of “future tech jobs”, even as professional careers continue to evolve rapidly.

The dominance of professional roles in the top 25 reflects the function of the list itself: it surfaces areas of acute skills scarcity, not necessarily the full range of roles the economy depends on.

Even the classics are evolving

Many of the roles discussed so far sit within industries that have long formed the backbone of the economy. What’s changing is not their relevance, but what excellence within them now requires.

Medicine:

Healthcare is shifting from reactive treatment toward more data-driven and preventative models of care. Philips’ Future Health Index 2025 shows that clinicians globally see AI and digital tools as critical to reducing administrative burden, improving patient experience and expanding access to care.

Skills that matter: Clinical judgement and decision-making, data and digital literacy, ethical reasoning, systems thinking, human-centred communication

Accounting:

Accounting is moving beyond routine number-crunching towards strategic, advisory and governance-focused work. ACCA’s Global Talent Trends 2025 survey shows that technology is freeing professionals to focus on higher-value tasks – particularly in sustainability, ethics and decision-making – rather than replacing the profession.

Skills that matter: Data analysis and interpretation, digital and AI literacy, ethical judgement, strategic advisory, communication

Law:

The Thomson Reuters Future of Professionals Report 2025 found that AI has become a “crucial tool” for improving efficiency and productivity across legal services, shifting focus toward human judgement and complex negotiation.

Skills that matter: Critical thinking, ethics, technology fluency, negotiation

Education:

Teaching is moving from content delivery to learning design and mentorship. Microsoft’s 2025 AI in Education report shows that AI tools are increasingly used to personalise learning and reduce administrative work, allowing educators to focus on creativity, critical thinking and learner support.

Skills that matter: Creativity, digital and AI fluency, emotional intelligence, lifelong learning

Engineering:

Engineers are pivoting from construction to sustainable innovation and intelligent systems design. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies engineering among the sectors most affected by green transition and automation, with demand growing for climate-resilient infrastructure and energy systems.Skills that matter: Systems thinking, sustainability awareness, coding, design thinking

Across these professions, a common thread is emerging: interpreting information matters as much as producing it.

“Irrespective of your role, your ability to work with data and interpret it is becoming more and more significant. The real skill will be interpretation – understanding what the data is telling you and applying judgement to it,” says Gatter.

The paradox of progress

But the story doesn’t end with new roles and evolving sectors. The pace of technological change means that some of the jobs being created today may themselves be reshaped, or even replaced, over time.

Microsoft’s latest research into AI’s impact on work highlights this tension. It shows that AI is most likely to disrupt information-intensive, knowledge-based roles – particularly in administration, finance, media and professional services – while jobs that rely on physical skills, technical expertise or in-person service are far less exposed in the near term.

In that context, Gatter argues the real differentiator won’t be technical skill alone: “As machines get better at being machines, perhaps humans can get better at being humans,” says Gatter.

Navigating careers without a fixed map

For families thinking about education choices today, the goal is not to identify a single “future-proof” profession, but to prepare for careers that will evolve repeatedly over time.

The most resilient career paths will belong to those who can adapt quickly, apply judgement in complex environments and continue learning as roles change. Depth of thinking, flexibility across disciplines and confidence working with new tools will matter more than mastery of any one job title.

So what can parents do to help their children navigate this shifting terrain?

“You don’t have to predict which exact job will exist in 2030. Instead, you can model and nurture a mindset and habits that allow them to thrive in whatever comes,” says Alex Gitlin, Executive Head at Reddam House Constantia. 

Here are a few practical ideas:

• Seek out diverse experiences. Encourage exploration across disciplines – from technology and science to the arts, sustainability and entrepreneurship – and experiment with AI in everyday learning and play.
• Foster curiosity and creative thinking. Ask open-ended questions, support mini-projects and normalise experimentation, even when it leads to failure.
• Model resilience and emotional agility. Share stories of adaptation and change, including your own, helping children see setbacks as learning moments. Celebrate adaptability, not just fixed achievements.
• Champion lifelong learning. Demonstrate your own curiosity and encourage learning beyond the formal curriculum.
• Reinforce human-centred collaboration. Promote teamwork, leadership and service, where empathy, ethics and trust are developed.

“In this way, you become more than a parent, you become a lifelong learning partner. You help orient their mindset, not just their timetable, and we stay linked to the same changing world ourselves,” adds Gitlin.

The future of work is not something to fear. It is a horizon of possibility. While many current roles will evolve or vanish, new ones will emerge – often in places we cannot yet predict.

“For parents of the Class of 2030, your most powerful contribution won’t be choosing the exact job your child will hold, it will be helping to shape the person who can thrive in this everchanging world. With the right mindset, the right exposure and the right encouragement, South Africa’s next generation can lead in the new economy,” concludes Gitlin.