With its finger forever on the jobs market, LinkedIn regularly provides updates on what it considers to be the most sought after jobs of the moment. It published the latest assessment of the market in January 2021, which is a great time to take the pulse as widescale vaccinations roll out and we start looking forward to life after lockdown.
Here we cover:
· The top fifteen jobs on the rise right now
· How coronavirus pandemic has impacted the jobs market
Jobs in e-commerce, IT and artificial intelligence
Since the pandemic, e-commerce has been booming as has the requirement for associated IT and digital marketing activities. Remote working also increases the demand for advanced computing skills to keep us all in the loop and safe from malicious online attacks. Even before the pandemic, the relentless march of artificial intelligence paid dividends to both firms and individuals skilled in the art – COVID has none nothing to dampen that progress.
LinkedIn has identified several critical roles in these categories: Professionals on the Frontline of E-commerce features at number 1 of the leading 15; Digital Marketing Professionals at number 6; Digital Content Creators at number 9; User Experience Professionals at number 13; Data Science Specialists at number 14; and Artificial Intelligence Practitioners at number 15.
1 – Professionals on the Frontlines of E-commerce
Such has been the demand for frontline e-commerce skills that hiring in this sector grew by 73% over the year. LinkedIn has identified 400,000 currently open jobs in the industry, covering everything from delivery driver to personal shopper.
6 – Digital Marketing Professionals
Not only have we turned to the internet for our shopping, but it is also playing a significant role in our entertainment. Netflix and similar streaming services are growing at a pace. So is the demand for digital marketing professionals whose primary functions are finding new ways to grab and maintain our attention. Over the last year, demand for digital marketing professions of all flavours has increased by 33%.
9 – Digital Content Creators
We consume digital content at a burgeoning rate. Blogs, podcasts, YouTube videos, platforms such as TikTok all permeate our daily lives. The demand for digital content creators is now almost 50% higher than this time last year, with many lobs available for people with skills in creative and technical writing, video editing, podcasting, and public speaking.
13 – User Experience Professionals
User Experience or UX is now at the heart of all forms of digital technologies. Understanding how people interact with websites, apps, and other digital experience experiences is crucial to their commercial success. Demand for UX professionals grew by 20% over the last year.
14 – Data Science Specialists
Data dominates the world, and the world needs people who can understand and analyse data, and it needs them in abundance with 46% more jobs available in the sector than a year ago.
15 – Artificial Intelligence Practitioners
Artificial intelligence is driving all kinds of business. During the pandemic, it played a crucial role in discovering new and repurposing old drugs to treat COVID-19 infections, thus saving many lives. According to LinkedIn, jobs for artificial intelligence practitioners are up by a third and achieve some of the top salaries.
Here at Horton International Argentina, we’ve seen an increase in the number of searches in the digital world, just a few of the searches we’ve conducted recently are:
– Head of E-Commerce
– Data Governance Manager
– Head of Digital Media
– Head of Implementations
– Head of Data Science
– Head of Security
The rise of jobs in healthcare
Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised at the increasing demand for healthcare professionals. If we have learned anything from the pandemic, then it is how much we depend on these people to help keep us stay healthy in both body and mind. Healthcare and wellness roles feature in four of LinkedIn’s top categories: Healthcare Supporting Staff at number 4; Nurses at number 5; Professional and Personal Coaches at number 10; and Mental Health Specialist at number 12.
4 – Healthcare Supporting Staff
While we are all aware of the increasing demand for doctors and nurses, we might not realise the concomitant need for healthcare support staff. For every doctor and nurse who treat patients, other specialist staff keep the system running as smoothly as possible. Maintaining records, ushering patients through the system, informing patients what to expect from vaccines, and many other roles are necessary to keep the system running smoothly. Hiring for these type of positions is up by over 34% compared to 2019.
5 – Nurses
Never before have we needed nurses as much as we do today. After all, they are the heart of the healthcare system globally. We don’t just need nurses in hospitals and doctors’ surgeries; they are becoming increasingly sought after for roles in education, industry, and long-term care. And it isn’t only the pandemic that makes them even more indispensable – amongst other factors, the ageing population is also driving demand. Demand for nurses is almost 30% higher than in 2019, which is one of the reasons why we need to pay them a little more.
10 – Professional and Personal Coaches
With gyms closed in many regimens and outdoor exercise often significantly curtailed in times of lockdown, the need for personal and professional coaches to keep our bodies and minds in shape is booming. Since 2019, the demand for these roles by organisations and individuals is up over 51%.
12 – Mental Health Specialist
The pandemic and associated lockdowns continue to take a heavy toll on people’s mental health. Isolation, fear, burnout, anxiety, and depression are just a few areas where people find they need more support. Demand for jobs in this field is growing at around 24% per year and will continue to grow year on year.
The best of the rest
The other high demand jobs include Loan and Mortgage Experts at number 2; Business Development and Sales Professionals at number 4; Experts in Workplace Diversity at number 5; Educational Professionals at number 8; and Specialised Engineers at number 11.
2 – Loan and Mortgage Experts
Despite the pandemic, money continues to make the world go round. Borrowing is big business, and the demand for experts in the field is up by 59% compared to a year ago. There are also opportunities to work from home while commanding a healthy salary.
3 – Business Development and Sales Professionals
The pandemic has forced many businesses to adjust rapidly to new circumstances or fail. While many have fallen by the wayside, adaptable, agile companies are urgently seeking business development and sales professionals to help them navigate through the turbulent waters of a post-pandemic world. Job openings for the sector are up 45% over the year.
5 – Experts in Workplace Diversity
Our attitudes to diversity in the workplace have undergone a sea change over recent times, especially in terms of anti-racism, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. Businesses are looking to bring new voices into their organisations, and are urgently seeking help from those skilled in workplace diversity & inclusion. Demand for such experts has almost doubled over the last year.
8 – Educational Professionals
Education at all levels has suffered significant challenges during the pandemic. However, many educational establishments have been impressively creative in the measures they have taken to mitigate the damage to students and pupils. The need for educational professionals is over 20% higher than in 2019.
11 – Specialised Engineers
Keeping systems running during the pandemic as progressively more services move online is a considerable challenge that requires engineers of many specialisations. Jobs in web development, program management and systems engineering are up by a quarter since last year.
Finally
LinkedIn assembled this information by analysing over 15,000 job titles to uncover those that have grown the most since 2019 and assembled the job titles into the above categories. It’s excellent news on the jobs front and suggests we may anticipate a post-pandemic boom time ahead.
