Dying Industries Lead Workers to New Jobs: Who’s Hiring?

A recent CNBC report finds that flight attendants are taking up new jobs as contact tracers and dog walkers. Where can workers from severely affected industries find new jobs?

The world has started resetting to adapt to the post-pandemic phase. Organizations have also begun revisiting their internal business and people processes in the past six months to evaluate which of those will be valuable in the new normal.

Companies are now cutting roles or redesigning jobs to make them sustainable. Some jobs might never resurface, while others may come back but with a changed approach and responsibilities. The retail sector and e-commerce companies removed drivers since deliveries have reduced. The travel sector decreased or redesigned the jobs of booking agents owing to a drastic reduction in the number of travelers. 

Airlines have been at the forefront of this change, having removed a whole range of jobs, and laying off or furloughing several employees. Flight attendants are the most significant workgroup at most airlines, and they have primarily been shifting to alternative careersOpens a new window , reports CNBC. These jobs range from dog walking to contact tracing.  

The travel industry has been hit by a series of layoffs. Large airlines such as United Airlines announced furloughs and job cut warnings were sent to some 15,000 flight attendants. American Airlines announced plans to eliminate 921 flight attendant positions, representing 6% of its in-flight service staff. Immediate job cuts were avoided because there were concessions and payroll protection initiatives from the government. But these are set to get over by September 30, 2020. 

Stress for flight attendants has also increased due to the several issues connected to the health crisis, evolving safety standards for passengers, and now job security. Furloughed employees have now started preparing for job cuts by taking up new jobs emerging during this time. 

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What Are the Job Options for Laid-Off Employees?

While dog walkers and manual contact tracers don’t necessarily need a specific form of education, some of the new jobs arising will need some amount of reskilling. This includes jobs in healthcare, online learning, or cybersecurity, where the number of jobs are expected to grow.

Professionals in healthcare

This segment is seeing a sharp rise in the requirement across the spectrum. Supporting roles in this sector, such as those that work in procurement, finance, demand management, recruitment, and training will form a new set of jobs with specific but transferable skills at some levels. Digital analysts who can analyze data about infectious diseases and discover patterns that can impact community health are also a new career option. Another public health technique that is now a huge job opportunity is contact tracingOpens a new window . Researchers at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health say 184,000 contract tracers are needed in the U.S.

Online learning and education

Whether it is organizations or schools and universities, there is a sharp rise in teachers and trainers who can enrich one’s online learning experience. The demand for online and distance learning has already risen, with edtech businessesOpens a new window making their prominence felt during the pandemic. 

IT and cybersecurity workforce

Almost every organization is now using automation software to reduce the tactical tasks that usually take up employees’ time and effort across all functions. This has picked up the pace to a significant extent due to the pandemic, which forced companies to shift to remote working. Given the benefits of virtual work, many companies will continue to have some part of their workforce working remotely.

This is giving rise to IT jobs for those who need to manage this automation and a new approach to remote working seamlessly. Apart from that, IT workers who have cybersecurity certifications, knowledge, and experience will also see an upsurge since virtual work and collaboration need secure connections. This is a skill pool that is already showing a massive shortage.

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While there is information about the new roles that are rising, it is yet to be seen how companies are preparing for them. Acquiring fresh talent, reskilling and redeploying existing talent, or using outplacement services that can map the employees that they plan to lay off with organizations hiring for these jobs are steps organizations can take to make the most of and manage their depleting workforce.