Thursday, 04 May 2023 03:08

These are the top 10 most in-demand job skills right now, according to World Economic Forum

Rate this item
(0 votes)

Jobs and work are going through a major transformation right now — with millions of roles potentially being eliminated or created in the coming years, according to non-governmental organization the World Economic Forum.

This relates to a wide range of reasons, from technological advancements to climate change. But one thing is certain: many workers will have to adapt.  

Having the skills to navigate this change — and maybe even new job requirements — is therefore crucial.

In its latest "Future of Jobs" report, WEF lays out which skills are key right now, and which will become vital in the coming years. The report is based in a survey of 803 companies in 27 industry clusters in 45 different economies.

Analytical and creative thinking skills take the top spots for what companies are expecting from workers right now. Self-efficacy skills, including being resilient, flexible and agile, being motivated and self-aware, and curious and committed to lifelong learning, round out the top five.

This is "in recognition of the importance of workers ability to adapt to disrupted workplaces," the report said.

Only one technology-related skill — technological literacy — makes it into the top 10 at sixth place. The ability to understand and work with AI and big data currently ranks 15th .

The newest ranking reflects some changes from the last iteration of this survey, which was published in 2020.

"Comparisons to previous surveys suggest that creative thinking is increasing in importance relative to analytical thinking as workplace tasks become increasingly automated," the report said.

"In 2018 and 2020, the number of surveyed companies that considered analytical thinking to be a core skill outnumbered those considering creative thinking to be a core skill by a margin of 35% and 38%, respectively. That gap has now decreased to 21% and may continue to close."

Emerging skills

Further shifts to which skills are expected to be most in demand are expected, according to WEF. "Employers estimate that 44% of workers' skills will be disrupted in the next five years," the report said.

Creative thinking is the skill that is expected to increase in importance the most, followed by analytical thinking and technological literacy. The latter is especially important as technological developments will be a key driver of new jobs emerging and existing ones being eliminated, which the WEF report also covers.

AI and big data knowledge comes in seventh place as the sector has been booming recently, raising concerns about how disruptive artificial intelligence will be to jobs. Soft skills like curiosity and lifelong learning, and resilience, flexibility and agility are also set to become increasingly vital for workers, coming in fourth and fifth place respectively.

On the other side of the scale, physical skills are among those that could be less important in the future.

"While respondents judged no skills to be in net decline, sizable minorities of companies judge reading, writing and mathematics; global citizenship; sensory-processing abilities; and manual dexterity, endurance and precision to be of declining importance for their workers," the report said.  

The top 10 most important skills

These are the 10 most important skills for workers this year, according to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report.

1. Analytical thinking

2. Creative thinking

3. Resilience, flexibility, and agility

4. Motivation and self-awareness

5. Curiosity and lifelong learning

6. Technological literacy

7. Dependability and attention to detail

8. Empathy and active listening

9. Leadership and social influence

10. Quality control

 

CNBC

June 28, 2025

Nigeria experiences sharp decline in Foreign Investment as FDI fell 19% in Q1 2025

Nigeria’s appeal to foreign investors continued to wane in the first quarter of 2025, with…
June 26, 2025

Peter Obi decries ‘coordinated lawlessness’ after brother’s property is demolished in Lagos without court order

Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has condemned what he described as a brazen act of…
June 28, 2025

7 genius responses to ‘put rude people in their place,’ according to communication experts

Kathy & Ross Petras Rude people are, sadly, all around us. We deal with them…
June 21, 2025

Man convicted of posing as flight attendant to fly for free 120 times

A 35-year-old American man has been found guilty of impersonating a flight attendant at least…
June 26, 2025

17 soldiers killed, dozens injured in fierce gun battles with terrorists in Niger, Kaduna

Seventeen soldiers have been confirmed dead and at least ten others injured following coordinated attacks…
June 29, 2025

Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 632

IDF kills key Hamas founder and mastermind of Oct 7 terror attack in Israel The…
June 25, 2025

Tesla robotaxi launch: Why getting from dozens to millions of self-driving cars won't be easy

Tesla (TSLA.O) finally has a robotaxi. Now comes the hard part. The electric-vehicle maker deployed…
May 13, 2025

Nigeria's Flying Eagles qualify for World Cup after dramatic win over Senegal

Nigeria's U-20 national football team, the Flying Eagles, have secured their place at the 2025…

NEWSSCROLL TEAM: 'Sina Kawonise: Publisher/Editor-in-Chief; Afolabi Ajibola: IT Manager;
Contact Us: [email protected] Tel/WhatsApp: +234 811 395 4049

Copyright © 2015 - 2025 NewsScroll. All rights reserved.