Dr. Baniline Jone Abantao challenged academic leaders of La Consolacion College Bacolod to align programs, teaching approaches and workforce development initiatives with rapidly changing global employment trends during her presentation at the Administrators’ Academy on Tuesday, July 14.
Drawing from the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, Abantao discussed how technological advancement, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts, the green transition and changing geopolitical conditions are reshaping jobs and skills worldwide.
She highlighted projections that structural changes in the labor market could affect 22% of existing formal jobs by 2030. An estimated 170 million jobs are expected to be created, while 92 million could be displaced, resulting in a net increase of about 78 million jobs globally.
Abantao said technology-related and sustainability-focused occupations are among the fastest-growing roles. These include big data specialists, financial technology engineers, artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists, renewable energy engineers and cybersecurity professionals.
Clerical, secretarial and data-entry positions, meanwhile, are expected to experience significant declines as automation and digital access expand.
The presentation also emphasized the growing importance of analytical and creative thinking, technological literacy, resilience, flexibility, leadership, empathy and lifelong learning. Nearly two-fifths of workers’ existing core skills are projected to change or become outdated by 2030.
Abantao noted that skills gaps remain a major obstacle to organizational transformation. The report showed that 63% of surveyed employers identified labor-market skills gaps as their biggest barrier, while 85% planned to prioritize employee upskilling and continuous learning.
She urged administrators to examine how LCC Bacolod could strengthen partnerships with local and international industries, expand continuing education and alternative learning opportunities, and ensure that graduates possess competencies aligned with employer needs.
The discussion also raised questions on how the institution could update traditional business and management programs, explicitly develop and assess transferable skills, prepare globally competitive educators and redesign classroom instruction for greater human-machine collaboration.
Abantao’s presentation formed part of the Administrators’ Academy, which brings together the institution’s academic and administrative leaders to discuss priorities, emerging challenges and strategies for the coming academic year.