Africa’s Next Workforce: The Jobs AI Will Create

A shifting employment landscape will require the next (and current) generation of job-seekers to adapt and redefine the confines of traditional practices.  

The 2025 Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) illustrates a reality of opportunities and challenges.  

It’s estimated that by 2030, around 170 million jobs—translating to 14% of today’s total employment—will be created amid an offset of 92 million. That’s occupational growth of 78 million. 

“AI will eliminate certain roles, transform others, and reduce the size of many teams,” says Abejide Ade-Ibijola, Professor of AI at Johannesburg Business School in the University of Johannesburg, to FORBES AFRICA.  

“We are not moving toward a world with no jobs, but toward a world where the definition of a job is changing faster than most people are prepared for.”  

Sector Focus 

WEF projects the fastest growing job, between 2025-2030, to be Big Data Specialists, a role whereby workers design, build, and manage large datasets—the field is projected to attract a net growth of around 110%. 

Second on the list is Fintech Engineers with an estimated job net growth of over 90%, followed by AI and Machine Learning Specialists (over 80%), Software and Application Developers (nearly 60%), and Security Management Specialists (above 55%). 

“In Africa, data-related roles will see strong and sustained growth,” Ade-Ibijola explains. “The continent is still in the early stages of digitization, which means new datasets are being generated across various sectors… As long as data continues to grow, there will be demand for data engineers, analysts, scientists, and data governance specialists,”–this for the next 10 to 15 years, he believes.  

Regarding what today’s higher education-bound youth should consider, the professor states that they should not start with a specific job or even a specific degree: “Choose a path that builds strong thinking ability, adaptability, and problem-solving capacity. The future will reward those who can combine disciplines. Study to become someone who can learn anything, solve problems, and adapt repeatedly over time.” 

The unpredictability of military theaters shows there is scope for security-related roles to increase further as “geopolitical fragmentation contributes in large part to the growth of this role,” the report reads, before highlighting that Information Security Analysts also appear in the top 15 growth list. 

While big tech jobs dominate WEF’s growth chart, it doesn’t discount labor-intensive jobs and industries that converge with a more environmentally-conscious world.   

“Farmworkers top the list of the largest growing job roles in the next five years… expected to see 35 million more jobs,” the report states, adding that delivery drivers, building construction workers, salespersons, and food processing workers are also among the largest-growing job types in the next five years. 

Meanwhile, green and energy-transition roles, such as Renewable Energy Engineers, are expected to increase, spurred by efforts and investments to reduce carbon emissions and adapt to climate change, alongside a globally growing focus on energy generation, storage, and distribution. 

It’s important to remember that these are just forecasts. In actuality, no future predictions on worldwide workforces will be unequivocally correct. The rapidity of AI innovation means that surprises should be expected. 

The Right Environment 

History is periodized by eras of industrialization, but while the invention of steam-mechanized textile production and electricity ignited industry at scale, the overall job ecosystem has arguably never been so uncertain. That being said, the figures suggest that opportunity isn’t fading; it’s evolving. 

When asked how Africa can position its adolescents for success, Alan Hirsch, senior fellow at the Johannesburg-based New South Institute, tells FORBES AFRICA: “The challenge is to create an environment that encourages large-scale innovation in Africa, which includes high educational standards, better research centers and stronger higher education institutions.” He highlights the need for this shift to coincide with a cheap, abundant and reliable power supply. 

Ade-Ibijola adds: “The future of work is not simply about which jobs will exist or disappear. It is about the capability to adapt, to solve problems, and to apply emerging technologies in meaningful ways. 

“For Africa, this moment presents both a significant risk and a generational opportunity.”