Big Data, AI, and Green Tech: WEF highlights top skills needed to thrive in India's job market by 2030

Increased digital access, geopolitical tensions and climate mitigation efforts are the primary trends expected to shape the future of jobs in India by 2030, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said.

In a report titled ‘The Future of Jobs Report 2025’, the WEF said the companies operating in India are not only heavily investing in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and autonomous systems, and energy technologies but also planning to outpace global adoption in certain technologies.

“The country’s projected fastest-growing job roles – including Big Data Specialists, AI and Machine Learning Specialists, and Security Management Specialists – align closely with these trends,” it said.

The report highlighted that such companies expect to tap into their diverse talent pool and adopt skills-based hiring by removing degree requirements.

“Demand for AI skills has accelerated globally, with India and the United States leading in enrolment numbers. However, the drivers of demand differ. In the United States demand is primarily driven by individual users, whereas in India, corporate sponsorship plays a significant role in boosting GenAI training uptake,” the WEF report noted.

Broadening digital access is projected to be the most transformative trend globally, with 60% of employers expecting major business impacts. Robotics, automation, and energy innovations are also poised to reshape industries, sparking demand for AI, big data, and cybersecurity expertise.

The second-most impactful trend, rising living costs, is expected to transform half of the businesses by 2030, according to the report.

“General economic slowdown, to a lesser extent, also remains top of mind and is expected to transform 42% of businesses,” the report said.

The WEF sees climate-change mitigation as the third-most influential trend, driving demand for green economy roles such as renewable energy engineers, environmental engineers and electric and autonomous vehicle specialists.

For the first time, environmental stewardship has entered the Future of Jobs Report’s list of the top 10 fastest-growing skills.

A total of 170 million new jobs, offset by 92 million job losses, are expected to affect 22% of today's global workforce by 2030.

“Extrapolating from the predictions shared by Future of Jobs Survey respondents, on current trends over the 2025 to 2030 period job creation and destruction due to structural labour-market transformation will amount to 22% of today’s total jobs,” the report said.

“This is expected to entail the creation of new jobs equivalent to 14% of today’s total employment, amounting to 170 million jobs. However, this growth is expected to be offset by the displacement of the equivalent of 8% (or 92 million) of current jobs, resulting in net growth of 7% of total employment, or 78 million jobs,” it added.

Frontline job roles such as farmworkers, delivery drivers, construction workers, salespersons, and food processing workers are predicted to witness the largest growth in absolute numbers, according to the report.

Professions like big data specialists, fintech engineers, AI and machine learning specialists, and software developers top the list of fastest-growing jobs in percentage terms.

Care economy roles, including nursing professionals, social workers, and personal care aides, are also expected to witness significant growth, along with education positions like secondary and tertiary education teachers over the next five years.

On the other hand, clerical and secretarial roles such as cashiers, ticket clerks, and data entry clerks are expected to see the largest decline. Postal service clerks and bank tellers will be among the fastest-shrinking professions.

The report forecasts that 39% of workers’ skill sets will need transformation or risk obsolescence between 2025 and 2030.