It is no big news that the digital transformation will also change everyday working life. It is also well known that employees' skills will have to adapt to the new circumstances. But what will actually happen to people on a personal level? How will skills change?

Technological expertise more in demand than manual skills
The current study "Shift skills - Automation and the future of the workforce", which the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), the research facility of the management consultancy of the same name, published at the end of May, addresses these questions. For the first time, the study quantified the effect that the use of new technologies has on the demand for certain skills. Five sectors were examined as examples: Banking and insurance, energy, healthcare, manufacturing and retail. In addition to Germany, the study also focused on the USA, France, Spain, Italy and the UK.

Social and emotional skills are becoming more important
The study shows that automation and artificial intelligence will make other skills more important. In Germany, for example, the proportion of working time that requires social and emotional skills will increase by almost a quarter to 20 percent. In concrete terms, this means that communication and negotiation skills, empathy and leadership skills will continue to gain in importance, even in times of digitalization. Overall, the MGI analysis predicts a further increase in demand for employees due to automation, but these skilled workers are already in short supply today.

The healthcare sector plays a special role in an international comparison of industries. Wiesinger: "The healthcare sector is the only sector in which the demand for physical and manual skills continues to rise, by around five million workers worldwide." This is mainly due to the increasing demand for nurses, carers and physiotherapists as a result of demographic trends. In the financial sector, far-reaching automation of administrative activities is to be expected. The picture is similar in retail: automation of supporting administrative activities, but more customer interaction.

Employee qualification becomes a competitive advantage
According to the study, companies must provide their employees with targeted training and development in order to remain competitive. "One in three top managers fear that a lack of skills in the workforce could have a direct negative impact on the bottom line," says Wiesinger, explaining the results of a survey of 3,000 board members in seven countries. One in four respondents expressed concern that growth targets would be missed. When asked about the most important changes to organizational structures over the next few years, a quarter cited the introduction and promotion of broader training opportunities for employees. Wiesinger: "The core task will therefore be to equip employees quickly enough with skills for the future." The much-cited lifelong learning will become increasingly important.

According to documents from McKinsey / ag