Cyprus is heading into a decade of job creation, but not all occupations will move in the same direction. This year's European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) forecast reveals a labour market split between fast-rising professions in technology, healthcare and education — and declining roles in agriculture, crafts and routine administration.

Overall, Cyprus is steadily shifting toward a high-skill labour market. By 2035, more than 60% of all job openings in Cyprus will require tertiary education, while roles requiring only basic education continue to disappear.

Below is a clear breakdown of which jobs Cyprus is expected to lose, and which will expand by 2035.

1. Skilled agricultural workers

• The only major occupation with an outright drop in employment.
• Includes crop and livestock workers, forestry and fishery workers.
• Driven by farm consolidation, ageing farmers and mechanisation.

2. Market-oriented agricultural workers

• One of the steepest declines across all occupations.
• Younger workers are not entering the sector; productivity and automation reduce labour needs.

3. Handicraft, printing and related trades

• Printing press operators, handicraft makers and traditional manufacturing trades show sustained contraction.
• Digital production and modern manufacturing reduce demand for manual craft roles.

4. Hospitality, retail and services managers

• Despite sector growth, mid-level managers decline due to digital platforms, online booking systems and operational consolidation.
• Fewer hierarchical layers needed in hotels, restaurants, shops and service firms.

5. Routine clerical and administrative roles

• Data-entry clerks, document processors and other paper-based office tasks shrink.
• Automation, e-government and AI-driven back-office tools reduce repetitive work across the public and private sector.

1. ICT professionals

• Software developers, IT support, cybersecurity specialists and digital transformation roles rise sharply.
• Cyprus’s digitalisation push and EU-funded tech projects fuel demand.

2. Scientists, engineers and technical specialists

• Science and engineering professionals grow across manufacturing, energy, environment and R&D.
• Technical associate roles also expand.

3. Health professionals

• Doctors, nurses, specialists and associated health professionals rise due to ageing demographics and expanding healthcare capacity.
• Preventive care, hospital strengthening and medical tourism add to demand.

4. Teaching and education professionals

• Growth across primary, secondary and tertiary teaching roles.
• Linked to reforms in digital skills, education quality and demographic need.

5. Service and sales workers

• Retail staff, hospitality workers, personal service employees — among the largest occupational groups for new and replacement hires.
• Driven by tourism intensity and high worker turnover.

6. Plant and machine operators

• Moderate job growth but very high replacement needs.
• Modern manufacturing requires skilled operators for automated and semi-automated production lines.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 offers a global context that mirrors — and magnifies — many of Cyprus’s shifts. Worldwide, employers expect structural job churn equivalent to 22% of all current roles by 2030, driven by AI, digitalisation, economic pressures, demographic change and the green transition. That means 170 million new jobs created and 92 million displaced — a net gain of 78 million roles.

Technological acceleration shapes both the fastest-growing and fastest-declining professions. Among the top global growth roles are Big Data specialists, AI and machine-learning experts, software developers, fintech engineers, and cybersecurity analysts. Green-transition jobs — including renewable-energy engineers and electric-vehicle specialists — also rank among the fastest-expanding professions.

At the same time, the world is seeing a rapid decline in clerical and secretarial jobs. Cashiers, ticket clerks, postal service clerks, administrative assistants, bank tellers and data-entry clerks lead the global list of shrinking roles, largely due to automation, AI-driven back-office systems, and self-service technologies in retail and banking.

In absolute terms, the world’s biggest job growth will come from frontline roles — farmworkers, construction workers, delivery drivers, salespeople, and food-processing workers — alongside care-economy jobs such as nursing professionals, social workers and personal-care aides. Education jobs, especially secondary and tertiary teaching roles, are also expected to surge as working-age populations expand in lower-income economies.

The global skills landscape is shifting just as quickly. Employers expect 39% of all skills to be disrupted or rendered obsolete by 2030. AI and big-data skills top the list of fastest-growing competencies, followed by cybersecurity and technological literacy. But human-centred capabilities — resilience, flexibility, creative thinking and leadership — rise sharply as organisations brace for a decade of rapid change and uncertainty.