The Future of Work — WEF 2025 Skills of tomorrow
- ACT4 TALENTS
- Jan 14, 2025
- 2 min read
What does the World Economic Forum say about the skills of tomorrow? Here is our reading of the “Future of Jobs” report (January 2025).
From the foreword : Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director World Economic Forum As we enter 2025, the workplace continues to evolve at pace. Transformational advances, especially in generative AI (GenAI), are reshaping industries and tasks across sectors. At the same time, technological progress is unfolding alongside broader challenges such as economic volatility, geo-economic shifts, environmental pressures and changing societal expectations.
That’s why the 5th edition of the Future of Jobs report broadens its scope, offering an in-depth look at the interconnected trends shaping the global labour market.
At the heart of the report is a unique dataset drawn from a large-scale global employer survey. This year’s edition gathers insights from over 1,000 employers, representing more than 14 million workers across 22 industries and 55 economies, providing highly valuable and wide-reaching perspectives.
L'édition de cette année recueille les perspectives de plus de 1 000 employeurs, représentant plus de 14 millions de travailleurs répartis dans 22 secteurs industriels et 55 économies, fournissant ainsi des informations sans précédent.
What skills will matter most?
We’ve selected the skill insights that matter most for leaders, teams and organizations.
Core skills that are essential today and growing in importance
Analytical thinking remains the most in-demand skill, critical for problem-solving and decision-making in a data-driven world.
Resilience, flexibility and agility are key to adapting to rapid change and navigating uncertainty.
Leadership and social influence are essential for managing teams and enabling collaboration in complex environments.
Creative thinking is increasingly important for innovation and problem-solving across industries.
Motivation and self-awareness support productivity and well-being, and matter even more in fast-moving contexts.
Technological literacy is now fundamental for working effectively in a digital world.
Fast-growing skills:
AI and Big Data, with rapidly increasing demand across many sectors
Networks and cybersecurity, as digital infrastructure becomes more critical
Programming, as a foundation for software development and automation
Systems thinking, the ability to understand complexity and how parts interact within a system
Human-centered skills remain highly valuable:
Empathy and active listening, essential for effective communication and collaboration
Curiosity and lifelong learning, crucial for continuous upskilling and adaptation
Talent management, to develop and mobilize people effectively
Service orientation and customer service, to build strong and lasting relationships
Skills in declining demand
Manual dexterity, endurance and precision, as automation reduces the need for these skills in many roles
Reading, writing and mathematics, which remain fundamental, but become relatively less central in certain jobs due to technological progress (Note: this reflects the faster growth of other skills, not a full devaluation of literacy and numeracy.)
A key takeaway
Technical skills are essential, but human-centered capabilities such as adaptability, emotional intelligence and communication remain critical to succeed in an increasingly complex and interconnected world of work. The ability to combine both technical and human skills will be decisive to navigate future transitions and grow sustainably in a changing labour market.
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