What will work look like in 2020?

As we begin the second decade of the new millennium, Ian Wylie, writing in 'The Guardian' (Saturday 9th January) posits an interesting question for us on what work will look like in 2020. According to futurists, trade unionists and human resource specialists in 10 years' time, jobs will be very, very different. Perhaps now is a good time at the start of a new decade to figure out which sectors, industries and jobs are destined for growth.


By 2020 the UK economy will be even more globalised.  The transition from fossil fuels to alternative energy will be in full swing.  Rapid development in China, India and elsewhere will place huge strains on resources. Start with the assumption that 2020 will look nothing like now. Let's have a glimpse at the sectors where most change is arguably to take place:

Environmental: Green jobs my well be in two categories; some focused on reducing human environmental impact, others to "green-wash" their organisation's image.  As the debate on climate change continues, unabated no doubt, other key areas will open up from this.

Renewable Energy: Alternative fuels - solar, wind, tidal, hydrogen - are going to be huge, although renewables might also see an influx of workers from the disappearing oil and gas industries.  Nuclear too will return, though there is likely to be a shortage of uranium.

Advanced manufacturing: The next decade will see the return of manufacturing in Britain. The UK will identify niche sectors of manufacturing that are highly skilled and knowledge-intensive. One of the key areas the government is focussing on is the development of composite materials.

Augmented reality: Think the internet, video gaming and 3D TV colliding with the real world. Imagine a field of work where everything you can find on the web and everything you can do on a computer game merges with everything you can do in the real world.

Robots and artificial intelligence: With search engines already guessing what we want before we ask, artificial intelligence will eliminate and transform many jobs by 2020. Will robots take over the high precision, high-value surgery leaving consultants redundant?

Business: In the wake of the financial crisis, business will seek to build on more solid foundations.  Are we to see a radical make-over of the 'entrepreneur?'

Nanotech and biotech: This could be the decade we witness an explosion of technological advances in nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive sciences collectively known as NBIC.  As these fields expand and converge, opportunities will arise to reprogramme our bodies' "software" , extending life, reducing deaths and alleviating poverty.

Social services: Our ageing population are already generating booms in home health care and nursing homes.  Expect the growth to come at the sharp end of social services -nurses and carers rather than administration!

Education: As future-proof a sector as exists, with schools, universities and private providers expanding to keep pace with the accelerating need to train and retrain.

Food: The demand for organic, healthy, locally sourced food will continue to increase. Witht the emphasis on sustainable agriculture through small-scale methods rather than big machines and fertilisers, the world is likely to need more, not fewer agricultural workers.

There are a number of ways in which you could convert Ian Wylie's piece into classroom lessons. Firstly ask the class to identify their TEN key sectors for growth over the next decade giving reasons for their answers.

Next, divide the class up into TEN groups giving each one a sector (either those decribed in the blog or one that the pupils came up with). Inside an envelope you have prepared and included THREE made up job titles (You will get some ideas on the type of job titles from the exercise that follows this).  The group are asked to provide a ONE line job description for each title. Discuss the results.

Alternatively, with Wylie providing an insight into possible JOBS IN 2020 in his article, you could arrange the class into 4 to 6 groups depending on size and give out to each group one A3 sheet with the following SIX jobs included (see below).  Ask each group tp provide a ONE line job description.  Where they are confident of their definition the can play their 'joker' so as to gain double points.  The teachers will have the correct definitions on the power-point with the THREE key words/phrases in each definition underlined. Teams with the correct underlined words/phrases for each job description will score a point for each correct answer  (i.e. up to a maximum of three points for each job description - joker scores double!).

The SIX jobs for 2020 are; (a) Traceability Manager; (b) Metal Skin Consultant: (c) Avatar Design Security Consultant; (d) Personal Bot Mechanic; (e) Powered Exoskeleton Engineer; (f) LocaPreneur

Teachers can email me for the correct definitions should they want to run with this exercise.