Upskilling for shared prosperity

This report from the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with PwC, makes the economic case for providing employees with learning and development opportunities to expand their horizons while minimizing skills gaps. At the heart of the report is a realization that economies are no longer delivering what people need and require systemic reform; and creating more inclusive and sustainable economies and societies where no one is left behind begins with giving all people opportunities to build the skills they will need to fully participate in the future workplace. Chapter 1 looks at how a new upskilling narrative has evolved and why [Coronavirus Disease] COVID-19 has accelerated the need for business, government and the education sector to take action to ensure people are prepared for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Chapter 2 discusses the impact of upskilling on economic growth and shows how investing in the development of skills across geographies and sectors can reshape economies. Chapter 3 describes the wider social effects of upskilling beyond productivity and investigates how employability can create more inclusive economies. This chapter also highlights new economic thinking about the creation of good jobs and the need to adopt more inclusive economic models.

Key findings are that: (1) wide-scale investment in upskilling has the potential to boost [gross domestic product] GDP by $6.5 trillion by 2030; (2) regions and economies with the biggest gains are those in which the skills gaps are larger and the potential is greatest to improve productivity through skills augmentation aligned with new technology; (3) progress on reversing polarization and reshaping the workforce is feasible; (4) upskilling could lead to the net creation of 5.3 million new jobs by 2030; and (5) COVID-19 has accelerated the need for action. The report closes with a call to action and roadmap of how businesses, governments and the education sector can collaborate in ecosystems that put people and their development centre stage. Finally, an appendix provides a detailed discussion of PwC's global Computable General Equilibrium model and the report's methodology.

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