The Top 10 Skills Rising in Importance, According to 1,000+ Employers

February 13, 2025 | What's Hot | 11 min read

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Fewer employers expect their workforce’s skills to lose value or face disruption from 2025 to 2030, according to recent findings by the World Economic Forum.

The organization’s research shows a five-percentage-point decline in employers anticipating skills disruption when compared to findings from 2023 (44% to 39%) as a part of its Future of Jobs Survey. More than 1,000 employers, spanning 22 industries and 50 economics, participated in the survey for the 2025 edition.

The trendline is headed in the right direction thanks to more organizations rolling out training for employees. However, skill gaps remain a very real threat to business transformation over the next five years.

“Skill gaps are categorically considered the biggest barrier to business transformation by Future of Jobs Survey respondents, with 63% of employers identifying them as a major barrier over the 2025-2030 period,” the report says. “Accordingly, 85% of employers surveyed plan to prioritize upskilling their workforce, with 70% of employers expecting to hire staff with new skills, 40% planning to reduce staff as their skills become less relevant, and 50% planning to transition staff from declining to growing roles.”

The report provides a thorough analysis of the findings, including an outlook on skills through 2030. WEF determined which skills are rising or declining in significance, which are deemed “core skills,” and what training needs are anticipated to meet demands by decade’s end.

Here are the highlights of the research:

How Has Skills Disruption Changed Over Time?

WEF’s findings in its first edition of the report (2016) suggested a little more than one-third of employers portended skills disruption in the five years to follow.

During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of employers anticipating skills disruption spiked. It was during that time when most employers (57%) thought their workforces’ core skills would change in the years ahead. However, as the pandemic is in the rearview, the percentage of employers projecting skills disruption has come down again to levels seen in 2016.

As mentioned, 39% of employers in 2025 believe their workforce’s core skills will change by 2030. Conversely, 61% see their employees’ core skills remaining stable.

There is some variability. The severity of skills disruption changes when looking at different industries or economies. In general, high-income economies forecast less disruption than low or middle-income economies.

What’s Causing the Rise and Fall of Skills?

There are five main trends impacting jobs and skills. They are:

Technological change — Advancements in AI and growing reliance on robotics and autonomous systems are driving up demand for some skills while also decreasing demand for others.
Geoeconomic fragmentation — Geopolitical tensions, trade restrictions and similar conflicts are causing greater risks to supply chains, networks and cybersecurity, and international relations.
Green transition — Mostly driven by climate change and the consequences thereof, more employers see skills related to a green transition as pertinent to their operations.
Demographic shifts — Both aging and coming-of-age working populations are causing a shift in which skills are most useful. With workers exiting the labor pool, there’s demand for passing on information. For those entering, there’s an opportunity to learn.
Economic uncertainty — Contentious trade relations are stoking uncertainty about where the economy will go in 2025. While inflation in 2024 was reined in, it’s hard to say what the future may hold.

“These findings underscore an urgent need for appropriate reskilling and upskilling strategies to bridge emerging divides,” the report says. “Such strategies will be essential in helping workers transition to roles that blend technical expertise with human-centred capabilities, supporting a more adaptable workforce in an increasingly technology-driven landscape.”

For HR and learning professionals, these trends signal — as WEF states — a need to create effective employee development plans that will help them bridge skill gaps and support the organization’s transition into the future.

The Top 10 Skills Workers Need Right Now

Core skills in 2025, according to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report. — Source: World Economic Forum 2025 Future of Jobs Report

These are the skills employees believe their staff needs to do their jobs effectively today. Today’s top 10 core skills look like this:

Analytical thinking
Resilience, flexibility and agility
Leadership and social influence
Creative thinking
Motivation and self-awareness
Technological literacy
Empathy and active listening
Curiosity and lifelong learning
Talent management
Service orientation and customer service

What’s immediately apparent about these skills is that they’re transferrable skills. All can apply to virtually any role today.

All of these skills also share a level of introspection and extraversion. Building an archetypal employee from these skills, you’d have someone on payroll who can handle change with grace (resilience), who communicates clearly and has an easy time working alongside others (leadership, empathy, active listening). This person also doesn’t require a great deal of supervision, but rather this person has an innate drive to troubleshoot and overcome challenges (analytical thinking, motivation).

If you break this data down by industry, there’s natural variation given the demands of that sector. For example, the mining industry places higher importance on environmental stewardship compared to the global average.

‘On the Rise’ Skills Through 2030

Skills on the rise from 2025-2030, according to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report. — Source: World Economic Forum 2025 Future of Jobs Report

Globally, some skills are rising in importance. WEF cut the data a different way to reveal which skills are “on the rise” during this five-year period. It compared how employers feel some skills are increasing or decreasing in value and use.

Here are the top 10 skills with the greatest net gains (meaning growing applicability):

AI and big data
Networks and cybersecurity
Technological literacy
Creative thinking
Resilience, flexibility and agility
Curiosity and lifelong learning
Leadership and social influence
Talent management
Analytical thinking
Environmental stewardship

If you compare this list to the last, you’ll notice an immediate shake up in order. The skill area AI and big data misses the top 10 for core skills today, but here ranks number one. Over the next five years, more employers believe this skill area will rise in importance and applicability over the rest.

Networks and cybersecurity land in the number two spot, whereas it ranks 17^th on the list of core skills. Skillsoft’s own research corroborates the importance of this domain.

In our IT Skills and Salary Report, technology leaders emphasize the need for more cybersecurity expertise and yet can’t find the talent. Roles in cybersecurity are consistently among the toughest to hire for, according to this research, while the skills steadily rise in demand. Similar findings are true for AI as well.

As for the rest, they resemble the list of core skills featured before. Skills like technological literacy, creative thinking and resilience remain squarely on the list for what may be obvious reasons. All of these skills apply to myriad jobs today.

The Future Workforce Needs These 10 Skills

WEF’s research, as well as Skillsoft’s, shows most employers plan to create training programs internally to reskill or upskill their workforce. Many also plan to take advantage of free training options, government funding or public-private partnerships. What’s evident is several options are on the table to close skill gaps and prepare the workforce.

Different industries will have different needs, with some placing greater emphasis on certain skills over others. But what’s common among most is that the skills below are quickly becoming among the most important for employees to have.

Learn about each and find training resources to hone them.

AI and Big Data

Galvanized by advancements in generative AI, skills in the artificial intelligence-big data field are the fastest growing. The automotive and aerospace, telecommunications, and professional services industries are especially keen to build up this competency.

Professionals with these skills can help their employer gather and analyze business intelligence, improve decision-making and operations. Building expertise in this domain means training staff on how to use relevant data analytics tools, program in languages like Python, R, or JavaScript, and who are familiar with popular AI/ML frameworks — among many other skills.

Resources to help build this skill:

Blog: The Top 13 Skills Every Machine Learning Engineer Should Have
Channel: Artificial Intelligence / Data Architectures
Channel: Big Data

Networks and Cybersecurity

Contentious trade relations and geopolitical conflicts are increasing cybersecurity risks, the report says. It’s a cause for concern as many cybersecurity jobs remain vacant, with technical leaders saying it’s one of the toughest areas to hire for, according to Skillsoft’s research. The industries most focused on this skill area include financial services, insurance, and energy.

Networking focuses on building and managing systems that enable data exchange between devices and organizations, requiring knowledge of protocols, infrastructure, and connectivity tools. Cybersecurity involves protecting these systems and data from threats, using skills like threat detection, encryption, and incident response. Together, they ensure secure and efficient digital operations.