AI and jobs: how skills will change by 2030
Are you prepared for your profession to survive artificial intelligence?
39% of current skills could change or become obsolete before 2030.
There is a shared sense among students, professionals, and companies: the future of work is no longer a distant promise, but a transformation happening right now, one that is forcing a rethinking of how we are trained, what we learn, and how we adapt to uncertainty.
The global labor market is undergoing a rapid transformation driven by digitalization and artificial intelligence, which is redefining the type of talent organizations are looking for.
In this new scenario, companies are prioritizing hybrid profiles capable of integrating technical, creative, and strategic knowledge, displacing the traditional model based on a single specialization.
Global labor shift.
According to the Future of Jobs Report 2025 by the World Economic Forum (WEF), 86% of employers expect artificial intelligence and information processing to transform their businesses before 2030.
At the same time, the organization estimates that 39% of current skills will change or become obsolete over the same period, forcing professionals to continuously update their capabilities.
Marisa Sarget Tarifa, Vice-Rector for Academic Organization and Faculty at the Spanish academic institution UDIT, explains:
“Companies are looking for talent with a global vision, flexible thinking, and the ability to move across different areas of a project. It is no longer enough to master a single discipline.”
A hybrid profile, in this context, combines competencies from different fields such as technology, design, business, or user experience, integrating them to solve complex problems.
This adaptability is becoming increasingly relevant in collaborative and interdisciplinary work environments, where innovation depends on connecting diverse ideas. Sarget states:
“The high demand for new technologies is driven by several factors. First, technological acceleration, which we have already discussed. Second, constant innovation: companies seek talent capable of connecting ideas and generating proposals that make a difference. And third, the cross-functionality of teams, where the ability to communicate across diverse profiles is key to the success of any project.”
Future skills.
However, a significant gap persists between traditional academic training and the skills demanded by the labor market. In Latin America, the OECD notes that 84% of employers plan to invest in internal training (upskilling), reflecting that education systems do not always respond at the speed required by productive transformation.
This is further reinforced by ManpowerGroup data, which shows that 74% of companies struggled to find qualified talent in 2025. The executive adds that:
“Beyond technical knowledge, organizations increasingly value human skills such as analytical thinking, resilience, leadership, effective communication, and continuous learning ability. These competencies allow professionals not only to access a job but to remain relevant over time.”
In this context, hybrid education emerges as an alternative that expands job opportunities, reduces vulnerability to sectoral changes, and enables mobility across different roles, from technical positions to strategic or leadership roles.
It also fosters a continuous learning mindset, increasingly essential in constantly evolving economies.
Education and gap.
Educational institutions face the challenge of narrowing the distance between the classroom and industry. According to LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report 2025, 63% of employers identify skills shortages as the main barrier to transforming their businesses.
This has led to stronger integration of practical projects, collaboration with companies, and continuous updating of academic programs.
In this context, the Spanish academic institution UDIT has implemented a teaching model based on project-based learning, strong ties with the productive sector, and an international outlook.
The institution has more than 2,400 agreements with companies and partnerships with over one hundred academic institutions worldwide, allowing students to gain real-world experience from early stages, within an academic environment that is constantly evolving.
In Latin America, and particularly in countries such as Mexico and Colombia, traditional degrees will not disappear, but they will undergo transformation processes. The WEF highlights that reskilling and upskilling are priorities for 51% of companies in Mexico and 60% in Colombia.
However, the region still faces the challenge of aligning education with productive transformation in order to generate higher-quality jobs, especially in advanced digital areas. Sarget anticipates:
“The future of education will be more experiential and connected to real-world problems. Students will need to learn to make decisions in uncertain contexts, collaborate with different stakeholders, and adapt quickly to change.”
In this new labor landscape, the message for students, families, and companies is clear: adaptability is consolidating as one of the most important skills.
The combination of multidisciplinary knowledge, practical experience, and a continuous learning mindset will be key factors for staying relevant in the economy of the future.
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