CAPE TOWN - The current unemployment rate of South Africa stands at a staggering 14 year high of 27,7%. However, digital technology may create more and unique jobs by the year 2025.
South Africa's employment is surmounted by population growth which leads to high unemployment levels. Unemployment can be tackled by hyper-scale Cloud services from local data centres in South Africa.
According to Head of T-Systems, South Africa’s IT Portfolio and Solution Sales, Mpumi Nhlapo says that local data centres could have a dramatic effect on skills development and unemployment.
READ ALSO: Unemployment rate highest since 2003
Added to this, various trend-spotting firms and analysts predict that a high percentage of today’s jobs will not exist 10 to 20 years into the future.
Instead, these jobs will be replaced with new jobs.
We take a look at 8 new jobs FastCompany predicts people will have by 2025:
1. Digital death manager
"Life-logging" will be a way of life. This involves tracking what we do and how well we do it. Individuals see a role for someone who can take the mass of life-logged material, and create stories out of it, says CEO of Sparks & Honey, a New York trend-spotting firm, Terry Young.
2. Un-schooling counsellor
The notion of education over a 4-year duration will no longer be the standard. It is predicted that individuals will study over broken intervals. attributing a month now and again to education. "We’re seeing the evolution of the traditional counselor to someone who can hack your life together so it’s unique", says Young.
3. Armchair explorer
Machines will produce an excessive amount of data about their performance and surroundings. These communication technologies are expected to become cheaper and be widely accessible. This creates a job for ''armchair explorers''. "Armchair explorers" will travel the world, checking on systems, buildings and hard-to-reach places.
4. 3-D Printing handyman
3-D printed items are expected to be more prominent in the future. This follows in line with 3-D printed showerheads which are already in existence. Therefore, a handyman may be able to print a spare part in your backyard, instead of waiting for it to be imported from China.
5. Microbial balancer
The microbial world is a big focus of research. Young sees a job for a “microbial balancer” who can keep you aligned with your bacteria.
"They will understand how to read your genome, your gut, and your mouth bacteria and get you better balanced at a house, school, or individual level. They’re the equivalent of the Feng Shui person who sets up your apartment".
6. Corporate disorganiser
Big companies aspire to be more like start-ups. Innovation is seen as vital for future profits. Therefore, Young says that large corporates will want "corporate disorganisers" who can introduce a little ''organised chaos''.
"The disruptor will be tapping into the new systems of the collaborative economy, creating greater fragmentation and a more distributed ecosystem", says Young.
7. Digital detox specialist
The ''digital overload'' will become overwhelming. This will essentially pave the way for the occupation of a ''digital detox specialist'' who can assist people with leading less data-centric lives, or at least find a better balance.
It is further predicted that the ''digital overload'' will become so severe that "digital rehabs'' will be set up.
8. The urban shepherd
This ties into the green-economy initiative. Cities are increasingly getting ''greener''. Therefore, ''urban shepherds'' will be required to look after the new infrastructure.
"You need someone who is going to take care of the urban beehives, who’s going to make sure your composting is set up correctly, and who is going to know how to curate all the vertical gardens", concludes Young.