A report by the World Economic Forum might not normally attract much interest from people working in the automotive aftermarket, but the 2025 Jobs Report contains an interesting nugget of information that points the way ahead for the independent garage sector. 

Future of Jobs Report highlights the fastest growing and declining jobs across the globe and right up there near the top of the list is Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Specialist, coming in at seven on the list after a range of data, digital and software jobs. 

The report surveyed more than 1,000 companies around the world – representing 22 industry clusters and more than 14 million workers particularly focusing on job development between now and 2030.

The fastest-growing jobs between now and the end of the decade include big data specialists, fintech engineers and AI and machine learning specialists. Other professions are declining quickly, including various clerical roles and administrative assistants.

The green transition and the growing adoption of energy generation and storage technologies also came high on the list with autonomous and electric vehicle specialists and environmental and renewable energy engineers among the top 15 fastest-growing professions.

Jobs noted as being in decline include various clerical roles, such as cashiers and ticket clerks, as well as administrative assistants, printing workers and accountants and auditors. Also in decline are insurance jobs such as claims adjusters, examiners and investigators. 

The report says that continuous learning, up-skilling and re-skilling programmes will be an ongoing priority for employers between now and the end of the decade.

Automotive roles being a part of this snapshot of the global jobs market shows the importance of the development of new mobility technology and the opportunities this creates for the automotive aftermarket. Although right now the focus of the aftermarket remains firmly on the internal combustion engine, the long term trends are clear and as such workshops in particular need to be considering up-skilling in areas such as EVs and ADAS.