Trend · rank 19 of 250

Technical & occupational skill shortages

Technological change and ageing workforces are creating persistent shortages in technical, trade and professional occupations, limiting national delivery capacity where vocational training and labour mobility respond slowly.

Human CapitalPeople, health & workwork skillsdemography

Second pass: Carried forward from the first pass, where it was Talent & labour shortages. Held by all three panel models.

Sensitivity and network position

Rank
19of 250
Sensitivity
25.0rank 9
Breadth
0of 20 scenarios High or above
PageRank
53.6rank 37
Eigenvector
5.7
Betweenness
43.6
Links
16trends at Moderate similarity or above
Composite
44.4

Attention over three years

How much this trend is read about on Wikipedia and searched for on Google, week by week, set against the typical trend in the list so that what moves every trend at once is taken out. 100 is this trend's own three-year average. The score measures public attention, which is not the same as the strength of the force: a trend can deepen unnoticed, and a news event can lift attention for a fortnight.

Now
85
Over a year
+1%Steady
Over three years
−37%
Peak
1414 Feb 2024
Sources
Bothagreement 0.70
Coverage
10languages · 17 nations

Trailing 4-week average. 100 is this trend’s three-year average.

By language

Wikipedia reading in each language edition where the trend’s pages are read enough to measure (10 of 28). Share is of all the readers counted.

LanguageShareNowOver a yearThree years
English70%89−3%
German11%103+9%
Spanish5%144+79%
Russian4%98+17%
French3%93+12%
Chinese2%115+26%
Japanese2%103+15%
Ukrainian2%109−13%
Dutch1%82+13%
Polish1%98+26%

By country

Google search interest over the three years, as a share of each country’s searching. 100 is the nation where interest is highest. The search terms are English, which favours countries that search in English.

United Kingdom

Ireland

Australia

Canada

New Zealand

South Africa

South Korea

United States

Singapore

Netherlands

Germany

Malaysia

100

34

21

17

10

5

5

5

4

2

1

1

The 12 highest of 17 nations with a reading.

By region and G20 member

Attention to this trend inside each place, from Google searches made in its countries and Wikipedia reading in the languages mostly read there, averaged where both exist. Each line compares the trend with its own past in that place; the lines do not compare places.

Regions

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
North AmericaGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in English101+21%+5%−6%
EuropeGoogle in 8 countries + Wikipedia in German, French, Polish, Dutch88+4%−11%−20%
Indo-PacificGoogle in 8 countries + Wikipedia in Japanese, Chinese98+17%−3%−12%
South AsiaGoogle in 1 country157+6%+74%+84%
Gulf and Middle EastGoogle in 1 country57−79%+145%−39%
AfricaGoogle in 1 country91+5%+42%−36%
Latin America and CaribbeanGoogle in 5 countries + Wikipedia in Spanish119+36%+29%+10%
Russia and EurasiaGoogle in 1 country + Wikipedia in Russian, Ukrainian109+13%−21%+32%

G20 members

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
ArgentinaGoogle118+41%+10%+47%
AustraliaGoogle85+31%−25%−26%
BrazilGoogle75−19%−9%−37%
CanadaGoogle97+43%−16%−0%
FranceGoogle + Wikipedia in French79−21%−5%−21%
GermanyGoogle + Wikipedia in German95+19%−11%−16%
IndiaGoogle157+6%+74%+84%
IndonesiaGoogle107+45%−2%−25%
ItalyGoogle80+21%−26%−31%
JapanGoogle + Wikipedia in Japanese99+37%−1%−10%
South KoreaGoogle71+47%−46%−35%
MexicoGoogle101+29%−21%−5%
RussiaWikipedia in Russian98+6%+17%−20%
South AfricaGoogle91+5%+42%−36%
TürkiyeGoogle57−79%+145%−39%
United KingdomGoogle51−10%−60%−52%
United StatesGoogle + Wikipedia in English103+21%+11%−5%

Relation to each scenario

A trend relates to a scenario when it changes how likely the scenario is, how hard it lands, or is itself sharply changed by it. Each score is the median of three scores given separately by the members of the model panel.

RelationScenarioFamily
3 · ModerateAn AI deployment step causes abrupt labour displacement S08Technology and infrastructure
3 · ModerateA cryptographic breakthrough invalidates digital trust S09Technology and infrastructure
3 · ModerateA cross-regional market access compact redirects investment S12 ↗Economic and trade
3 · ModerateCheap firm clean power becomes available at scale S15 ↗Energy, climate and resources
3 · ModerateAI-directed research produces a reproducible discovery step S17 ↗Technology and infrastructure
2 · LowHybrid coercion ends in an infrastructure blackout S04Geopolitical and security
2 · LowA major disaster disables the national economic core S07Energy, climate and resources
2 · LowA novel respiratory pathogen exceeds health surge capacity S10Health
2 · LowA validated farming package raises water-efficient output S16 ↗Energy, climate and resources
2 · LowA public service platform reaches inclusive operation S18 ↗Technology and infrastructure
2 · LowAffordable preventive treatments reduce chronic illness S19 ↗Health
2 · LowA live outbreak proves rapid distributed pandemic defence S20 ↗Health
1 · Very lowCritical trade divides into rival blocs S01Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA global funding seizure reaches sovereign balance sheets S02Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA regional war closes a globally important sea route S03Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA disputed transfer of power breaks effective government S05Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedTwo breadbasket failures trigger a food availability crisis S06Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedA creditor agreement releases fiscal capacity S11 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA great-power agreement lowers economic security barriers S13 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA verified Middle East settlement restores access S14 ↗Geopolitical and security

Similarity = 0.3 × shared tags (Jaccard) + 0.3 × likeness of scenario profiles (cosine) + 0.3 × likeness of names and descriptions (TF-IDF cosine) + 0.1 if in the same capability domain, cut into seven levels at 0.12, 0.22, 0.33, 0.45, 0.58, 0.72. Shown at Moderate and above.

SimilarityTrendThemeRank
4 · HighPopulation ageingPeople, health & work96
4 · HighYouth population expansionPeople, health & work146
4 · HighSkilled & research talent migrationPeople, health & work208
4 · HighPersistently low fertilityPeople, health & work243
3 · ModerateCivil service capability & payState capacity & governance2
3 · ModerateEntrenched opportunity inequalityPeople, health & work9
3 · ModerateAI & knowledge-work automationPeople, health & work53
3 · ModerateHealth system demand imbalancePeople, health & work56
3 · ModerateInformal employment persistencePeople, health & work84
3 · ModerateCare labour demand growthPeople, health & work86
3 · ModerateLifelong learning & digital reskillingPeople, health & work132
3 · ModerateFoundational learning deficitsPeople, health & work162
3 · ModerateYouth employment exclusionPeople, health & work177
3 · ModerateGraduate skill mismatchPeople, health & work178
3 · ModerateGender participation divergencePeople, health & work192
3 · ModerateMigrant integration demandsPeople, health & work205