Upskilling the global workforce is key to stimulating the economic recovery from COVID-19, discussed in this new report from PwC and the World Economic Forum.
The report calls on governments to adopt an agile approach to driving national upskilling initiatives, working with businesses, non-profits, and the education sector. This includes providing incentives to create jobs in the green economy and supporting technology innovation. The report estimates that if countries upskill their citizens in line with OECD industry best practices, this would lead to additional global GDP growth of $6.5 trillion and the creation of 5.3 million net new jobs by 2030.
Key economics findings include:
● China ($1,986 billion) and the US ($902 billion), followed by India ($571 billion), Spain ($132 billion) and the UK ($119 billion), have the most to gain economically in absolute terms from closing their skills gaps.
● Looking at the country findings as a percentage of GDP, China (7.5%), India (6.8%), Spain (6.7%), Australia (5.9%) and South Africa (4.4%) top the table.
● From a regional perspective, Sub-Saharan Africa (7.8%) and Latin America (7.7%) are expected to see the biggest gains as a percentage of GDP if they start investing in upskilling now.
● Some of the more developed economies will see smaller gains ranging from 2% in Japan to 0.3% in Germany, given that their productivity and skills base are already stronger than in emerging markets.
● Providing an upskilled workforce could shift the global economy to be more knowledge intensive, with technology and machines taking over routine tasks and people working alongside them.
● Half of the additional GDP globally is expected to be gained in the business services, consumer services and manufacturing sectors.
● Sectors that have suffered from low-wage growth and output for decades could reap significant benefits from upskilling. Health and social care could add $380bn additional GDP through upskilling by 2030.