HRM and skills development – June 2025

Graduation Ceremony brings number of NVC Packaging Professionals to new heights
With yet another 18 candidates passing the Exam, the total number of NVC Packaging Professional graduates has now grown to 786 worldwide. This memorable feat was referenced by NVC manager Education and training Oscar Faber in the opening presentation of the annual Graduation Ceremony, which took place on Tuesday 24 June 2025. The EQF5-referenced, independent exam is the quality mark for businesses and their employees regarding those jobs where the responsibility for the actual decision making on packaging is allocated. You can find more information on the website of the independent exam organisation.

77% of Germans want robots in the workplace
German workers welcome robot technology in the workplace. Three out of four think that robots can help alleviate the effects of skills shortages. Three out of four also believe that the use of robots will help to keep industrial production in their own country. These are findings of the Trend Index 2025 (2.52 MB) published by automatica. It is based on interviews with 5,000 employees from five countries.

AI linked to a fourfold increase in productivity growth
AI is making workers more valuable, productive, and able to command higher wage premiums, with job numbers rising even in roles considered most automatable, according to the 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer by PwC. The report (4.31 MB) is based on analysis of close to a billion job ads from six continents.

New survey indicates work-from-home is here to stay
Only 12% of executives with hybrid or fully remote workers plan on a return-to-office mandate in the year ahead. New findings released by Stanford show a clear message: Headline-grabbing mandates to return to in-person work “will barely move the needle on WFH.”

Upskilling required at scale for the future of work
Jobs and occupations will change as new technologies are used to handle and support more tasks. That transition to AI is already underway, according to the results of the latest McKinsey American Opportunity Survey (AOS) in which roughly 20% of employed respondents say that they have used GenAI for work purposes. Resultingly, upskilling that enables occupation switching will rise in importance. You can download the survey results after filling in your details.

IBM study: Businesses view AI agents as essential
The ‘AI Projects to Profits’ study (1.76 MB) by IBM reveals that enterprises are expected to significantly scale AI-enabled workflows, many driven by agentic AI. IBM surveyed 2,900 executives globally. Respondents expect AI-enabled workflows to grow eightfold within a year. 70% of surveyed executives indicated that agentic AI is important to their organisation's future.

BCG on how to prepare for an AI-first future
A report (1.01 MB) by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) reveals stunning examples on how AI-first companies are rewriting the playbook for all organisations by generating tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue with just a few dozen employees. While most companies will not be able to quickly adopt an AI-first operating model, all —even those in manufacturing and heavy industry—can prepare for an AI-first future.
 

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