In Argentina, companies are concerned about the skills deficit of workers

The Argentine labor market presents various challenges for the next five years, for both workers and employers. This is stated in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025.

This report, which brings together information provided by more than a thousand employers from 55 countries, reveals the biggest challenges in the labor market for the period 2025-2030.

In the case of Argentina, the 65% of employers surveyed believe the workforce skills gap is the biggest impediment to business transformation.

Other impediments detected by employers are: outdated regulations (57%) and organizational culture resistant to change (48%).

It is estimated that the most in-demand jobs in this period will be: data analysts and scientists, specialists in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

In this sense, Argentina is a country where the 100% of companies use programs that require AI, a higher percentage than the global average, which amounts to 88%.

The changes that will influence the labor market will be the expansion of digital access, the mitigation of climate change and economic uncertainty. These factors will generate new jobs but will also reduce others.

At a global level, the 52% of employers predict that wages will account for a greater proportion of their total revenue. However, in Argentina, that percentage is only 20%.

In contrast, a 57% of local employers plan to design a wage strategy to “support” the purchasing power of workers, while in the world that number amounts to only one 33%.

The report also states that the 42% of Argentine workers will change their skills in the next five years, a percentage higher than the global average, 39%.

Martín Calveira, economist and research assistant at IAE Business School, carried out the collection, processing and analysis of data for the Argentine section of the report, together with economist Eduardo Fracchia.

Calveira explains that this change in workers’ skills is an upcoming need procrastinating in Argentina.

Regarding the feasibility of generating a change in just a few years, Calveira is optimistic as long as the public policies and economic stability accompany this process.

Otherwise, the change may not come to fruition: “Possibly, if the State positions itself as an observer, we will have an experience similar to that of Peru, with institutionalized stability, but with low levels of investment and a low level of human capital.” stagnant”.

Therefore, the role of the state in generating the skills that the labor market will need is fundamental. “For example, China and the United States have a substantial scale of fiscal resources for educational development and research around quantum computing.”

The same thing happened in Southeast Asia, from where it follows that “resources for education must be correctly applied and subsequently evaluated. In this way, the so-called Asian miracle was created, showing countries of rapid industrialization,” argues Calveira.

The report states that Argentina is one of the countries with the worst expectations in terms of availability for hiring talent, although it currently has a good rate of possibility of hiring them, which is even higher than the global average.

Calveira clarifies that this difference is sectoral. “Some more competitive sectors such as exportable services have adequately trained personnel.”

The employers consulted revealed that in total they will generate 78 million of net jobs globally from 2025 to 2030, as more than 170 million will be created but another 92 million will disappear. The biggest global challenge is the same as in Argentina, the training of the employees.

Calveira details the situation: “The jobs that will grow the most are those linked to technology and AI: Big Data specialists, fintech engineers, AI specialists and machine learning“, in net terms.

However, an increase in jobs is also expected in essential areas of the economy, such as home delivery, care provision, education and agriculture. In this case, the net increase will be less than that of jobs linked to technology.

Regarding global challenges, Calveira emphasizes that it is essential to understand the context: “We must not lose focus on the fact that we are in a transition. Some countries will be more on the border, such as South Korea with the comprehensive policy of digitalization and automation throughout its economy, while other cases may be very middle of the road.

A transversal problem at a global level is the wage gap of gender. The report states that the marginal variation in women’s salaries is less than that of men, for almost all levels of skills and experience.

Calveira consulted the employers interviewed about this. “According to those surveyed, this happens because gender gaps persist, even with the advances of recent years.”

Finally, challenges also have to do with training policies and workers’ skills. “It is important for governments to acknowledge receipt of the changes that are projected through concrete actions. Countries that are coming at an accelerated pace can do so as a consequence of a policy of massive education and excellence. Investment in education and I +D, they are decisive,” summarizes Calveira.

This report is produced by the World Economic Forum, together with partners in 55 countries. More than a thousand employers representing 22 sectors of the economy are consulted and respond to a standardized survey of 38 questions in order to reflect market needs.

In Argentina, IAE Business School, the business school of the Universidad Austral, is the local partner of the World Economic Forum (WEF) for the preparation of the Report on the future of employment.

Calveira comments that the companies selected to participate in this report are diverse, “with an emphasis on medium and large, in different sectors of activity, as well as different provinces. At the same time, we try to ensure that the sample of companies is identical each year in order to generate consistency in the evolution of the responses, beyond the fact that every year some change and/or adjustment is made to the questionnaire”.