7 Skills the WEF Says You'll Need by 2030
Four possible futures for the global job market, the evidence behind each scenario, and no-regret strategies that work regardless of which future materializes.
The WEF 2030 Job Scenarios Guide by What About AI? breaks down the World Economic Forum's four possible futures for the global job market: Supercharged Progress (exponential AI + ready workforce), Age of Displacement (exponential AI + unready workforce), Co-Pilot Economy (incremental AI + ready workforce), and Stalled Progress (incremental AI + unready workforce). Based on current data — 83% of organizations at lowest AI maturity, exponential AI advancement with no plateau — we're headed toward the Age of Displacement. The guide includes the full evidence table, timeline analysis, and no-regret strategies.
Source: What About AI?
Key Insights from This Guide
Here are some of the most important findings. Download the full guide for the complete framework and evidence table.
We're Headed Toward the Age of Displacement
Based on current data, the combination of exponential AI advancement and widespread unreadiness points directly toward Scenario 2. Most companies we've talked to are not ready. 83% of organizations still score at the lowest maturity levels for AI automation.
170 Million New Roles, 92 Million Displaced
The WEF projects a net gain of 78 million jobs by 2030. But the jobs being created and the jobs being destroyed don't match the same people, industries, or geographies. The churn is where the real disruption lives.
The 12-18 Month Horizon
At Davos 2026, leaders from Google DeepMind, Anthropic, and Microsoft AI discussed the near-term horizon. Mustafa Suleyman suggested most knowledge worker jobs could be fundamentally affected within 12-18 months. The expected technology plateau hasn't materialized.
The Window Is Measured in Months
The gap between “most companies aren't ready” and “companies that aren't ready are being run out of business” is closing fast. AI role wages are up 27% since 2019, and 40% of skills required for jobs are expected to change. The variable you can control is readiness.
What's Inside the Guide
The 2x2 Framework
How AI advancement speed and workforce readiness combine to create four distinct scenarios — and which one we're headed toward.
Age of Displacement
Why exponential AI advancement plus widespread unreadiness is the most likely scenario — and what it means for 92 million displaced workers.
The Evidence Table
Every key statistic with sources — 83% low AI maturity, 170M new roles vs. 92M displaced, 27% wage increase for AI roles since 2019.
The Plateau That Never Came
Why every predicted AI bottleneck — training data, compute, energy — has been overcome, and new chipsets are already sitting in warehouses.
No-Regret Strategies
Actions that pay off regardless of which scenario materializes — human-AI collaboration, agentic workflows, data governance, and infrastructure.
Davos 2026 Insights
What Demis Hassabis, Dario Amodei, and Mustafa Suleyman said about the 12-18 month horizon for knowledge work disruption.
Get the Full Scenarios Guide
Download the complete WEF 2030 guide with the full framework, evidence table, and no-regret strategies for every scenario.
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