28 May AI, Skills, and the Future of Global Mobility: A Redesign in Real Time

Global mobility is undergoing a profound transformation. As labor shortages persist across critical industries and birth rates decline in top economies, the traditional migration model—built around credentialed experts and corporate assignments—is being reshaped by two converging forces: artificial intelligence and skills-based hiring.

In early 2025, world leaders, technologists, and policymakers gathered in Paris for the first-ever Summit for Action on Artificial Intelligence, signaling AI’s growing role not only in national economies but also in global workforce strategy. The conversation has moved beyond automation fears: AI is now seen as both a disruptor and a lever for workforce design, helping organizations reimagine how, where, and who they hire.

This comes at a time when demand for skilled and highly skilled immigrants is accelerating. From healthcare and tech to green energy and construction, industries across North America, Europe, and Asia are racing to fill roles that require both hard-to-find expertise and adaptability in AI-integrated environments. At the same time, low- and mid-skilled workers remain essential to maintaining economic momentum, especially in sectors like caregiving, hospitality, and infrastructure.

AI is redefining what—and where—talent is needed

By 2025, the AI sector is expected to employ over 100 million people globally. While job creation is concentrated in tech, ripple effects are felt across all industries. The demand for cybersecurity experts, cloud engineers, machine learning specialists, and roboticists is soaring. But the real shift lies in how these roles interact with emerging domains—green energy, infrastructure, health tech, and data privacy—creating cross-sector, cross-border opportunities.

And while AI is indeed driving automation, it’s also enabling workforce expansion in surprising ways. MIT economist David Autor points out that AI isn’t replacing jobs one-to-one. “Where AI is useful to people is where they have the right judgment to work with it,” he notes. “It can support judgment, but it can’t replace it.” In practice, this means global employers will increasingly prize candidates who can collaborate with AI—filtering insights, identifying errors, and applying human oversight.

Autor’s research shows that top scientists who partnered with AI tools boosted innovation outputs by as much as 40%. But for others without the same judgment or training, AI made work less fulfilling. This underscores the new direction of global hiring: not just seeking technical credentials, but AI fluency and contextual expertise.

Skills over degrees: the rise of a new mobility model

This shift is accelerating a broader redefinition of qualifications. In the U.S., more than half of state governments now promote skill-based hiring. California’s Master Plan for Career Education and the federal Chance to Compete Act emphasize evaluating candidates on experience and capability, not credentials alone. Similar reforms are unfolding in Germany, Poland, and across the EU, with training programs and apprenticeships increasingly prioritized over university degrees.

The private sector is following suit. According to Udemy, over 75% of companies are transitioning toward skills-first frameworks, supported by AI-driven training tools and internal skills taxonomies. These systems help identify capability gaps and enable dynamic redeployment of talent—domestically and globally.

For international job seekers, this trend opens new pathways. Ivy League pedigrees may carry less weight than practical, demonstrated ability to work with data, lead agile teams, or apply AI tools to business problems. In countries like Germany and Australia, workers without formal degrees but with industry experience can now access work visas more easily, reflecting a global recalibration toward inclusive expertise.

Labor shortages are global—and so are solutions

Despite tighter immigration controls in some regions, the urgency of labor shortages is forcing a strategic embrace of migration. In 2022, Canada attributed 96% of its population growth to immigration. Japan’s foreign workforce surpassed 2 million for the first time in 2024. Countries like Belgium, New Zealand, and Germany continue to rely on newcomers to meet labor market demands—especially in healthcare, construction, and logistics.

Healthcare remains the most acute pressure point. The U.S. needs 275,000 more nurses by 2030. Switzerland is projected to fall short by 15,000 nurses by 2029. Canada anticipates a deficit of 78,000 doctors by 2031. Countries are competing for caregivers and clinicians from the Philippines, Mexico, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa—a trend that has prompted warnings from the World Health Organization about the ethics of talent “siphoning” from low-resource nations.

Some regions are taking corrective steps. Quebec, for example, announced in late 2024 that it would cease recruiting nurses from African nations to avoid exacerbating shortages in source countries. Others, like the UK and U.S., are building local talent pipelines while continuing international recruitment, especially from English-speaking countries.

Mobility isn’t just for the highly skilled

While highly skilled migration captures headlines, demand for less skilled labor is also growing—especially in tourism, agriculture, caregiving, and construction. Governments are launching targeted visa programs for these workers, and new countries are entering the talent competition. The Czech Republic, Mexico, and Poland are emerging as attractive alternatives for students and early-career professionals, offering affordable education and favorable visa policies.

At the same time, green energy programs—from the UAE Green Agenda to the European Green Deal—are driving the need for renewable energy engineers, carbon analysts, and sustainable construction experts. These fields are open to both high-skill professionals and those trained through technical programs and apprenticeships.

The future of work Is skills-based—and globally distributed

Looking ahead, global mobility will be defined not by pedigree, but by capability. Organizations must adopt new strategies to remain competitive:

• Design for complementarity, not automation: The most effective roles will pair human judgment with AI speed.
  
• Align hiring with skills, not titles: Build internal taxonomies and external partnerships that reward hands-on knowledge.
  
• Champion ethical recruitment: Balance global talent needs with source-country sustainability and training investment.
  
• Create upskilling ecosystems: Use AI to accelerate learning and support cross-border career growth.
  

As Autor notes, “The future is not a forecasting exercise… it’s a design exercise.” AI won’t simply happen to global mobility—it will be shaped by how businesses, governments, and talent leaders rise to meet this moment.