Abdul Rehman
The dynamics of Pakistan’s labour market have changed along with the country’s economy. In the last decade, jobs that were once considered high paying have ceased to exist in several fields or have been taken over by other branches of the same market. Current employment prospects remain uncertain and are expected to undergo significant shifts in the next five years, with some industries growing while others stagnate.
Choosing the appropriate degree is essential for college students to ensure a secure and fulfilling career. It is of paramount importance for young people to understand the dynamics of the ever-changing employment market to ascertain the sustainability of their fields of expertise, and the value of their chosen profession in terms of that sector’s scope of growth and monetary prospects in Pakistan.
Global outsourcing, rising digitisation, and government incentives for digital entrepreneurs are the various factors contributing to the expansion of Pakistan’s IT sector. Not surprisingly, one of the biggest sectors that is predicted to do exceptionally well in the next five years is IT. “In the next five years, tech is the big game. The current trend is also from the same industry, and that can be further divided into several fields related to IT,” says Soft Skills and Professional Development Coach Namra Nasyr.
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Growth of freelance opportunities that are connected to AI apps and remote work in international marketplaces has stimulated great potential for Pakistan’s IT industry. Digital transformation is one of the key aspects of the development agenda of the government of Pakistan. IT exports have also added to the great income potential in AI-driven solutions and software development. “Jobs in data science, blockchain development, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and software engineering will be highly sought after in the coming years as even today almost every university has their courses revised and new degrees integrated given the need,” Nasyr explains.
IT is a domain that is integrated in different parts of the market, but within that, managing finances and business experts are the fields that will be seeing a boost in the coming years. “Every industry needs business experts who can guide them, help them, and boost their businesses with keen knowledge, such as risk management, investment prospects, and handling financing of the companies,” says the professional development coach.
Professionals in renewable energy will have access to a growing market due to the problematic electricity shortage in Pakistan and government’s attempts to encourage alternative energy sources over the past few years. As solar and wind energy projects grow and need for sustainable energy sources rise, engineers and environmental scientists will have more work options. With the increasing global shift towards sustainable energy, growing fossil fuel prices and government subsidies for wind and solar power will create new career paths for young people, giving them more opportunities to be creative and innovative.
Another growing market in Pakistan, in terms of job prospects in the coming future, is digitalisation, be it digital payment methods, smartphone adoption, or better internet connectivity. “All these factors are contributing to Pakistan’s growing tech industry. Knowledge of digital marketing, SEO, and online business management are extremely relevant with the current success of local entrepreneurs and platforms,” Nasyr explains, adding that IT is incorporated in all sectors and will be creating better job prospects. All related fields, such as Pakistan’s financial industry, is rapidly going digital, with professionals adding to knowledge in financial technology (FinTech) and risk management. Digital payments are in high demand as a result of the growth of mobile banking, digital wallets, and blockchain technology.
Specialists, researchers, and medical personnel are in high demand as the healthcare industry is recuperating and growing post-COVID. The pandemic has highlighted the necessity for improvements in healthcare, which makes pharmaceutical and medical technology extremely valuable. It requires greater investment in and awareness of healthcare with the expansion of AI and telemedicine in medical diagnosis. “Medicine is something in which we lose a lot of talent internationally, and in coming times, pharmacists and doctors will be more and more in demand. Medicine is going to stay as a long-term blooming field,” says Umair Saeed, career counsellor at a private university.
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It was predicted that post-2020, since COVID hit, the future of organised business activities and the jobs they generate would create a disruption. Now that disruption is visible. After the internet boom, people think that many jobs and fields will become irrelevant, and they will be taken over by technology. “It is somehow true that the number of people required to do a particular task has changed, but the job is still there; some people have been replaced in a raw form rather than in a very subtractive manner,” Saeed says, adding that, for example a helicopter pilot and a cameraman were required to shoot aerial shots, but now they both are replaced by drones. There is still a drone operator, however, and in near future, we will see that the operator will also be replaced maybe by a programmer, but there will be a human behind all that. AI is being used by the query writer and AI agent who will read the storyboard and make the programming for the drone to go and take specific shots; these are all functional level changes, but still humans are required to make it work,” Saeed says.
With technology, healthcare, renewable energy, and digital finance emerging as some of the top industries for future employment, Pakistan’s labour market is undergoing a substantial change. To secure long-term professional success, recent college graduates would be wise to select degrees that follow these trends. Over the next five years, degrees in agribusiness, cybersecurity, AI, fintech, and renewable energy will be highly valued.
Pakistan being a developing country, a large part of its population is unable to afford formal education. “With the perspective of Pakistan, all vocational training-based jobs, plumber or electrician, for example, are not going anywhere. These jobs will start getting better, as we have already seen. A housemaid, hired for Rs 50,000, now has a job that requires a great deal of training and consistency,” Saeed says. It is essential to understand a certain level of technology now as lifestyles are more and more equipped with technology for daily tasks and chores, he adds.
Sales is another field where irrespective of AI advancements and increasing automation of work, personal selling still carries weight as a means of furthering a business. “Making or converting a customer is not going anywhere, B2B market is 99 percent personal sales driven. No matter how much you automate processes and reduce the human element in it, at the end of the day, sales is not going anywhere, and humans cannot be fully replaced,” the career counsellor explains. He also points out that the way businesses are done might change; for example, the process of sales calls might evolve imminently.
Saeed, who has been studying the changing job markets, points out that the construction industry will soon see a boom, although Pakistan is quite backward in terms of technology, at least 15-20 years behind the rest of the world. “We have institutional gaps, but the way we go about construction, from an architect to a mason, those jobs will stay in demand. That is an area where more and more people will be required in the coming times.” Saeed says that with the induction of university graduates and trained skill set individuals, the job market is predicted to thrive in all aspects, from education to skill-based jobs, from top to bottom.
