AI unlikely to solve Switzerland’s skills shortage, study finds

Artificial intelligence is changing Swiss work, but it is unlikely to fill the jobs left open by demographic pressure. A Deloitte Switzerland study finds that demand will continue for workers in care, teaching, transport and the skilled trades, where the essential work depends on human contact or practical ability. AI may help staff complete parts of their jobs, but current systems are unlikely to care for older or sick people, teach children or perform manual labour in the foreseeable future.

That forecast leaves a practical challenge for employers and public services: technology can support work without replacing the people needed to do it. The study says shortages in people-oriented, service-oriented and practice-oriented professions are likely to persist and may worsen. For workers and employers across Switzerland, the impact of AI will therefore vary sharply by occupation. Some roles may become easier to manage, while others will continue to depend on recruiting and retaining people.

AI could take repetitive tasks off employees’ hands, especially in documentation, planning and administration. Deloitte says systems can also make information retrieval easier. These uses could support staff in shortage-hit professions by reducing time spent on routine duties, while leaving the central work with human employees.

The effects look different in office-based roles. The study says job losses cannot be ruled out in fields such as software and marketing, and expects AI to automate tasks in some knowledge-intensive occupations. That shift could also bring new requirements and job profiles. The findings point to a labour market where AI changes the content of work rather than producing the same outcome in every sector. In occupations with repetitive administrative duties, workers may gain support. In other roles, employers and staff will have to adapt as tasks change. The study’s central distinction is between work that technology can help organise and work whose core demands still call for people.

The study warns of a divide between vacancies AI can barely affect and office roles where automation will reshape work. In care, teaching, transport and skilled trades, vacancies are likely to remain unfilled when AI cannot take over the core tasks. Knowledge-intensive office jobs face a different pressure: automated tasks and new requirements may change what employers need from staff.

The authors describe a labour market in which AI’s effects depend on the work itself. A tool that helps with planning or information searches may ease a burden, but it does not supply the human contact or hands-on ability that many services require. For Switzerland, this means the spread of AI does not remove the need to prepare workers for persistent shortages in practical and people-focused occupations. At the same time, office workers may need to adjust as their tasks and job profiles evolve. Deloitte’s analysis connects these pressures to demographic trends, which it identifies as a cause of the country’s skills shortage.

Deloitte urges businesses, educational institutions and policymakers to strengthen vocational training and make career changes easier. The study names care, hospitality, logistics and the skilled trades as areas where attractive career paths could help workers enter or remain in shortage-hit professions. That includes making transitions between jobs more accessible, as AI alters tasks in other parts of the economy.

The recommended approach has two sides. In occupations facing shortages, AI could relieve employees of repetitive duties, while vocational training and clearer career paths help sustain the workforce. In office and knowledge-based work, further training will matter as automation changes tasks and creates new job profiles. Deloitte based its analysis on Swiss demographic and occupational data combined with international information on AI use and potential applications. It examined 279 occupations, giving the study a broad occupational frame for considering how technology and demographic change may shape employment in Switzerland.