‘The skills that matter are changing fast’: Q&A with Ben Hamer, keynote speaker at 2026 PNG Investment Conference

PNG isn’t on its own here. Almost everywhere in the world, businesses are struggling to find the right people. For example, a big global survey this year found that 72 per cent of employers can’t fill the roles they need to.

“The one skill that matters everywhere, regardless of what country we look at, is curiosity.”

When CEOs in PNG say skills are holding them back, they’re saying what bosses are saying just about everywhere.

The difference [in PNG] is which skills are missing. In developed economies, the shortage right now is for AI experts. In PNG, the gap is more to do with the technicians and people who keep a factory or a worksite actually running. And when you can’t find enough of them, the whole operation runs below what it’s capable of.

The skills that matter are changing fast. For example, the World Economic Forum expects 39 per cent of the skills we use on the job today to change by 2030.

Two kinds of skills are growing the fastest. One is the tech side: things like working with AI and knowing how to use data. On the other end, it’s all to do with being human. It’s clear thinking, creativity, being able to roll with change, curiosity, and the willingness to keep learning. The people who get ahead will be the ones who can balance both. Knowing the technology gets you in the door, but it’s the human skills that decide how far you go.

For a country like PNG, the order is a little more nuanced. The country needs the basics covered with trades, technicians and people who can use and look after technology. But getting the basics right can’t mean overlooking AI and tech investment. The risk is that the rest of the world keeps racing ahead, and the gap between PNG and the developed countries quietly gets wider rather than smaller. Plus, the big multinationals already operating in PNG will be bringing this technology in and expecting to use it. If the local workforce can’t work alongside it, then those opportunities and those jobs go to people brought in from elsewhere. The smart play is to nail the fundamentals and keep one eye firmly on the technology at the same time.

All that being said, the one skill that matters everywhere, regardless of what country we look at, is curiosity. Nobody can teach you every tool you’ll ever need across a whole working life. What you can learn is how to keep picking up new things on your own. For a country moving as fast as PNG, that habit is worth more than any single qualification.

PNG mostly skipped landline phones and went straight to mobiles. And AI could let it do the same trick again, jumping straight ahead instead of slowly building everything the old way.

Loads of people in PNG have never had a bank account, often because banks have no way to judge whether they’re a safe bet to lend to. AI can look at someone’s phone and digital history and work that out, which means a small business owner could finally get a loan they’d never have qualified for before. AI can also help in places short of teachers and doctors, giving people support where there simply aren’t enough trained staff to go around. And it can act like a business adviser in your pocket, helping small operators run things better straight off their phone.

That being said, it’s important to remember that AI needs reliable power, internet, and people who know how to use it. Where those things are missing, it can actually leave a country further behind rather than catching up.

So the chance is genuinely there. It just depends on getting the basics right first. The countries that do that will leap ahead, while the ones hoping AI will fix everything on its own will be disappointed.

I’m not turning up to predict the future. Nobody can do that, and anyone who says they can is usually trying to sell you something. But while you can’t predict the future, you can prepare for it, and that’s what I hope to do with those attending.

Building that readiness comes down to three things. Firstly, a clearer sense of what’s actually on the way, without all the noise and hype. Secondly, a reminder that the change is real but the opportunity is bigger. And finally, it comes down to what I call the other AI, which is our adaptive intelligence and the ability to learn, unlearn, and re-learn.

Dr Ben Hamer is Chief Futurist and Founder of foresight agency, ThinkerTank. He will be keynote speaker at the PNG Investment Conference, to be held on 10 & 11 August in Brisbane. For more information and to see the full program, head to the conference website.