The metaverse will create millions of new jobs in an industry forecast to be worth $13 trillion by 2030 (according to a recent report by Citi) as consumers continue to embrace new and increasingly immersive online models. That’s the view of Bernard Marr, futurist, technology strategist and author of the Future Skills — the 20 Skills and Competencies Everyone Needs to Succeed in a Digital World.
Marr, a regular Forbes magazine columnist who is ranked by LinkedIn as one of the top five business influencers in the world, takes a benign attitude towards technology and its effects on the workforce and society.
Jobs will be lost as automation increases but more will be created, he notes, quoting the World Economic Forum’s estimate that 85 million jobs may be displaced by 2025 as the division of labour shifts from humans to machines but that 97 million new roles will be created in that process.
The challenge for organisations is to continually upskill their people and to overcome resistance from sections of their workforce who are too comfortable with the status quo.
“Being adaptable and having a growth mindset and a focus on continuous learning is extremely important. We are seeing so many technologies revolutionising work — blockchain, AI, machine learning, virtual and augmented reality — innovations that will transform most industries and this is only going to accelerate now,” he says.
“Companies used to talk about the first, second, third and now fourth industrial revolution — which we are in at the moment. I see can a world where the acceleration of all these digital innovations is so fast that we won’t have all these gaps in-between. There might not be fifth revolution, it will just be a continuous cycle of innovation. People just to be sure that they continuously learn about these new technologies and how to apply them,” he adds.
The majority of the 20 skills Marr outlines in his book are what are often described as soft skills. These include critical thinking, emotional intelligence and empathy, interpersonal communication, ethical awareness and the ability to embrace and celebrate change.
Frustratingly, he says, many of the skills needed for workplace success, such as emotional intelligence, curiosity and adaptability, are ignored by traditional education institutions, putting an additional onus on organisations to develop.
More specifically, the first iteration of the internet created huge numbers of jobs for static website designers, he notes, while the second created jobs for social media managers. The same will happen now with the metaverse. Moving beyond soft skills, he has pinpointed a number of technical skills he feels will be in high demand.
Among these are 3D modelling and design. Metaverse worlds will be immersive and three dimensional and video gaming and animation skills will be vital, he points out.
Knowledge of blockchain and non-fungible tokens is another as he says many visions of the metaverse include concepts such as decentralisation and the uniqueness of digital assets.
User interface (UI) and user experience (UX) will be core in the metaverse and becoming skilled in either of these two areas would be very useful for anyone looking to begin a career in metaverse development.
There will also be high demand in this area for those with well-developed skills in areas such as coding, project management, cybersecurity and marketing.
Marr says he prefers the broader term Web3 to metaverse to describe the more immersive and distributed development of the internet, but acknowledges it is useful and descriptive word in popularising its adoption.
Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to rebrand Facebook as Meta underlines how big tech is taking this area, while Microsoft and Apple, among others, see potential to play to their own strengths in this field.
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Marr sees potential in projects such as Nvidia Omniverse, a simulation and collaboration platform which runs realistic virtual world and connects them to other platforms. The platform makes use of avatars and is currently used by remote teams to simulate working in physical office. “Tools like this could revolutionise the nature of work as more and more of us switch to remote working. It’s also easy to see how a platform such as this could be extended to all kinds of non-working environments.”
Projects in this area that capture the public imagination are helping. Marr was in the audience this year for one of the much-hyped Abba Voyage concerts in London, an immersive digital experience that blew himself and his family away, he says. Similarly, Ariana Grande performed in front of 20 million people on the game platform Fortnite last year.
Brands have been embracing virtual and augmented reality for a number of years. In 2017, for example, 19 Crimes Wine introduced an augmented reality app. Consumers can use their mobile devices to scan label on of a bottle of the brand’s wine and the label then plays a video giving a background story on the wine.
There are huge opportunities for making retail more immersive and it isn’t just a case of making shopping more fun or gaining attention among a younger demographic attuned to gaming and digital experiences. It is also about efficiency, reducing or even eliminating expensive returns in online sales.
Marr says that in 2021 retailers globally faced return rates of almost 17 per cent of all goods sold, which cost them $218 billion — added to which you also have huge environmental costs in transport and packaging.
“If I want to buy a new shirt, I can either order online and take my chances or go into a physical store where they probably won’t have my size or the colour I want. In the metaverse we can combine those worlds and do more. You can scan yourself using a phone. It will measure you better than a tailor. You can then try the shirts on and even use a different background such as a work environment or a social environment rather than a sterile dressing room,” he says.
This year saw the launch of the first Metaverse Fashion Week hosted on the Decentraland platform. Consumers were able to use immersive technology to order clothes from popular retailers including Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY and Dolce and Gabbana.
Digital developments in general will make work more interesting and create opportunities for those who embrace it. Marr is concerned to see a big chunk of the population not keeping up. It’s important to have digital literacy and to be aware of what technology is capable of and how it might change your job.
On the other hand, Marr also sees huge democratisation of data. The gaps between those who manage data and those who use it are collapsing. He cites as an example, retail giant Walmart, which has introduced cafe facilities where employees who don’t necessarily have strong IT skills — but who have data challenges — can sit down with data scientists and figure out solutions to problems.
“It’s never been easier than it is now to upgrade your skills and knowledge,” he concludes.
Creating a digitally skilled workforce
Set goals: learn where the training gaps in your organisation lie through dialogue with managers and team members. Emphasise the benefits that technical training will bring to individuals, for example, how it will help with their current role and future career prospects.
Use online tools: make use of online learning and self-study materials that let people learn at their own pace. For some people, bite-sized learning may be a better way of absorbing technical information.
Gamify learning: make learning more fun and motivating by using strategies such as points, levels and leader boards.
Augmented reality: consider whether augmented reality and virtual reality can help bring your technical skills to life. Energy giant BP, for example, has used VR to train refinery workers on emergency procedures.
Culture: Build a culture of curiosity and active learning where learning new things is seen as an opportunity and not a burden.
Future Skills — the 20 Skills and Competencies Everyone Needs to Succeed in a Digital World, by Bernard Marr, is published by Wiley
