According to WEF future jobs 2020 report “Automation, in tandem with the COVID-19 recession, is creating a ‘double-disruption’ scenario for employment. Fast adoption of technology will transform tasks, jobs, and skills.” It estimates that by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced by a shift in the division of labour between humans and machines, while 97 million new roles may emerge that are more adapted to the new division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms.

Microsoft has released its Work Reworked study for 2020, “which has found that almost all 97% of business leaders in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) believe that their organisations will adopt a more hybrid way of working for the foreseeable future.” Globally, industries and supply chains are converging driven by digitalisation and the 4 th industrial revolution (4IR); technology adoption is expected to remain unrelenting and will accelerate further, changing the nature of work skills and jobs. While some jobs are threatened by redundancy and others grow rapidly, existing jobs are also going through a change in the skill sets required.