Do you know which skills your workforce needs to succeed in 2025 and beyond? 83% of HR leaders believe workforce demand is developing faster than workers’ skills, and technology is the biggest driver of change.
Digital workplace systems, business intelligence tools, cloud computing, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence have massively impacted many job profiles. The transition to renewable energy, advancements in cloud computing, and the adoption of digital twins and autonomous agents will further change how we work (and live).
Understanding what skills will be in demand in 2025 and beyond will help you future-proof your career or ensure your company has access to the right competencies.
TL;DR—Key Takeaways
- Candidates and employees need soft skills like adaptability, creative and analytical thinking, and management chops. They should also be equipped with technical and digital skills like AI, data analysis, software engineering, and cloud computing.
- Digital skills are in high demand as part of almost every job. Yet almost half of EU workers are digitally under-skilled. They lack the necessary digital competencies to do well in their current role and require upskilling to stay employable in the future.
- Apart from digital skills, the fastest growing skills between 2025 and 2030 will be creativity, advanced IT and programming skills, scientific research and development, advanced communication, and negotiation skills.
- A few of the highest-paying skills at the moment are roles relating to software engineering, data analysis, and project management. This is because AI and Machine Learning Specialists top the list of fast-growing jobs, followed by various green sector jobs.
- The top 25 skills in demand in 2025 include communication, management, emotional intelligence, leadership, teamwork, continuous learning, software engineering, AI, data analysis, financial management, operations, and UX/UI design.
- The top emerging skills of 2025 are prompt engineering, AI risk management, consultative selling, virtual collaboration, and green skills in sustainability management.
- To nurture a future-proof workforce, companies use skills assessments to find the right candidates at the hiring stage, identify workers with necessary competencies for internal mobility, and determine workforce upskilling needs.
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What are the fastest-growing skills in demand, and why?
To understand the skills demand, you need to understand broader economic, technological, and societal shifts.
In 2010, most of us worked a 9 to 5 in an open-space cubicle. But in 2025 and onward, more and more teams will adopt hybrid or remote work. Top-down hierarchical organizational structures have become flatter, and more collaborative leadership styles are preferred. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), employee well-being, and ESG reporting are central priorities.
New technologies like cloud computing, blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and renewable energy production are changing how businesses work, how work is organized, and what employees are expected to do.
3 trends driving the demand for new skills |
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Technological: Emerging technologies require new technical competency and stronger cognitive skills. |
Economic: Business cycles have become faster and the operating landscape—riskier, requiring a more agile workforce. |
Environmental: Transition to renewable energy sources, sustainable manufacturing, and regenerative agriculture create high demand for new skill profiles. |
Because of these changes, a role description you saw (or signed for) eight years ago is no longer the same one you’ll see today or in five years.
Since 2016, 25% of job skills have changed, and by 2030, another 65% will further change.

According to McKinsey, there’s a strong need for talents with better technological, cognitive, and social skills. Their predictions for top fastest-growing skills between 2025 and 2030 include:
Basic digital skills | Advanced communication and negotiation skills |
Creativity | Technology design, engineering, and maintenance |
Advanced IT and programming skills | Interpersonal skills and empathy |
Scientific research and development | Leadership and management |
Upwork also reports technical and digital skills are in high demand among employers hiring freelancers and fractional workers. Per their findings, the top 10 in-demand skills on the job market for 2025 are:
- Data analytics (also the fastest-growing)
- Machine learning (second fastest-growing)
- Data visualization
- Data extraction
- Data engineering
- Data processing
- Data mining
- Experimentation & testing
- Deep learning
- Generative AI modeling (third fastest-growing)
Skills gaps are more apparent in other areas, such as project management, data analytics, emotional intelligence, and cultural competency, as job descriptions change and new positions emerge. These trends create new talent market dynamics.
Employees find themselves in an hourglass-shaped labor market. For highly skilled individuals, a progressive work environment allows for greater autonomy and a better balance of work and family life. While the ‘squeezed middle’ of the workforce see jobs disappearing, low-skilled workers compete ferociously for positions (across all sectors).
The Future of Work. Jobs and Skills in 2030 Report
Without upskilling or reskilling, workers risk getting stuck at the bottom of the ‘hourglass’, especially as roles continue to evolve.
This is evidenced by the fact that, by 2027, almost half (44%) of workers’ core skills will be disrupted due to the effects of job creation and destruction from environmental, technological, and economic trends.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts a loss of 83 million jobs, but 69 million new ones will be created. These new jobs come with a 44% change in a core skill set, per WEF, with a greater emphasis on:
- Creative thinking
- Analytical thinking
- Technological literacy
- Curiosity and lifelong learning
- Resilience, flexibility, and agility
- AI and big data
- Systemic thinking
- Motivation and self-awareness
LinkedIn’s research found that employers are seeking talents with strong interpersonal skills, such as communication, customer service, leadership, and management. The company also ranked adaptability as the fastest-growing skill over the last year.
Adaptability is on the rise because more and more work is becoming fractionalized. Roles are no longer limited to a narrow, itemized list of responsibilities. They have become cross-functional, assuming a continuous flow of evolving projects and tasks requiring a variety of skills and competencies. A data analyst may work with a marketing team for six months on a new go-to-market strategy, then get reassigned to help the finance department with some budgeting tasks.
We see a stronger convergence of tech and soft skills from multiple sources. Technology isn’t going away. On the contrary, it’s getting embedded into more and more processes. But automation doesn’t fully remove humans from the workplace.
No matter how ‘smart’ systems get, people still need to be present in the loop to supervise, tune, and program their performance. Moreover, future progress will require further innovation, and with that, skills like creativity, analytical thinking, data-driven decision-making, and strong people management will only become more important.
As Bernard Marr, best-selling author, futurist, and technology advisor to governments and private companies, puts it: “Success in 2025 will belong to those who can seamlessly integrate technological acumen with distinctly human capabilities.”
Fastest-growing data science & analytics skills
- SQL and NoSQL databases
- Apache Spark and Kafka
- Data pipelines development
- Data governance
- BI tools: Tableau, Power BI, and Looker.
- Data governance
- Advanced machine learning
In 2024, we’ve produced and consumed over 149 zettabytes of data. By 2028, global data volumes will increase by 2.6 times to 394 Zb. To transform raw numbers into actionable insights, business leaders need more people with strong data analytics skills. These include folks proficient in advanced machine learning and deep learning modeling techniques for real-time data processing.
Fastest-growing coding & development skills
- Python
- Java
- Javascript
- C/C++
- Typescript
- Cloud engineering
- API programming
- DevOps
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Microsoft Azure
Spending on IT continues to grow year on year as companies rush to become digitally-native. With that, tech skills shortages will remain in the news headlines. IDC expects over 90% of global companies will continue to experience IT skills shortages until 2026. Choosing a STEM specialization or pursuing new coding certifications is a future-proof career choice.
Fastest-growing sales & marketing skills
- Marketing automation
- Email marketing
- Sales and business development
- SEO, SEM, and SMM
- Lead generation
- Digital marketing strategy
- Sales funnel management
- Framing and negotiation
68% of marketing professionals believe finding a new job today is more challenging than five years ago. However, candidates with in-demand skills in automation, marketing analytics, and digital campaign execution get competitive compensation.
Sales roles, too, now require more software knowledge. But ‘traditional skills’ like negotiation, rapport building, and effective framing still give candidates an edge on the job market.
Fastest-growing financial skills
- Advanced financial modeling
- Bookkeeping
- Statistical analysis
- Financial data mining
- Risk management
- Financial planning and analysis
- Data visualization
- Basic coding skills
Employers in the financial sector look for talents who bring a good combination of core competencies and adaptability. High volatility means companies seek resilient, analytical, and flexible professionals who can quickly respond to regulatory landscape changes and dips in economic indicators.
Aside from math and statistics skills, many financial roles also require basic coding knowledge or familiarity with low-code tools for data analysis and visualization.
Fastest-growing customer support & administrative skills
- Digital project management
- Market research
- Dropshipping and order processing
- Medical virtual assistance
- Supply chain management
- Customer relationship management
- Cybersecurity awareness
- Knowledge of automation and low-code tools
Customer support and admin roles are arguably seeing the biggest skill transformation. Technologies streamlined many common responsibilities like data entry, transcriptions, and invoice matching, typically done by admin staff.
Instead, operational staff is now expected to help with a wider range of project management, research, and business process optimization tasks. Customer service is also evolving from basic issue troubleshooting to a relationship-driven function, requiring people with strong interpersonal skills to create memorable customer experiences.
What are the highest-paying skills in demand right now?
Like any demand and supply situation in business, people with in-demand skill sets receive higher compensation.
Global talent shortages have reached a 16-year high, as 75% of employers can’t find the talent they need with the right blend of technical and soft skills.
Source
Despite massive layoffs, tech sector workers continue to enjoy high compensation. In the US, senior AI engineering and machine learning positions continue to offer salaries of $300,000. The median salary of a software engineer in the US also continues to sit at a lavish $161,433 per year.
Healthcare is another sector where talent shortages drive wage growth. In the UK, NHS nursing staff received a 5.5% pay rise and GPs — an extra 6% in 2024. However, unions also demand further pay grading from 2025 to 2026. In the US, healthcare employers are offering 20% higher pay to workers who’d agree to come on-site 4 to 5 days per week.
The British banking sector will offer the highest salary budget increase by 5% in 2025. Across roles, the US employers plan a 3.5% salary budget bump for 2025 and Canadian by 3.3%, according to Payscale.
Overall, if your goal is to make more cash this year, look into the following positions.
Technology
Role | Average US Compensation | Average UK Compensation |
---|---|---|
Software engineering manager median compensation | $192,472 | £144,542 |
Machine learning engineer median compensation | $166,665 | £95,950 |
DevOps engineer median compensation | $141,446 | £75,975 |
Data engineer median compensation | $132,940 | £71,071 |
Operations
Role | Average US Compensation | Average UK Compensation |
---|---|---|
Program manager median compensation | $123,317 | £95,317 |
Project manager median compensation | $136,363 | £80,575 |
Business analyst median compensation | $128,604 | £60,089 |
Marketing and sales
Role | Average US Compensation | Average UK Compensation |
---|---|---|
Marketing manager median compensation | $114,556 | £81,317 |
Content marketer median compensation | $108,824 | £31,468 |
Sales development representative median compensation | $79,354 | £63,720 |
Top 25 future-proof skills for 2025 and beyond
Before we jump into the meat, here’s a quick note on our methodology:
- To come up with this list of in-demand skills, we’ve analyzed data from the World Economic Forum, University of South Wales, KornFerry, LinkedIn, and McKinsey, among others.
- Additionally, we’ve examined anonymized skills testing data from Toggl Hire to understand the current dynamics and consulted our People Team for their insights.
With that in mind, let’s look at the top skills HR teams prioritize in workforce planning and what candidates need to have (or develop) to be in demand.
Soft skills
Soft skills, like communication, empathy, and adaptability, are just as important as tech savviness and core job-related skills. Even as tasks become more automated, strong collaboration, problem-solving, and organizational abilities will set apart top candidates.
Two-thirds of employers say soft skills are more important than educational qualifications in hiring.
Source
1. Adaptability
With faster business cycles, an expanded risk radar, and rapid tech disruptions, businesses prize people with strong adaptability skills. For 77% of business and HR leaders, flexibly moving skills between roles is critical for navigating future disruptions.
Therefore, companies seek people who can quickly respond to changes, try new approaches, think resourcefully, go with the flow, and excel in cross-functional roles. Adaptability is a critical component of innovative thinking, too, as it challenges your ways. New technologies rise and fall on the hype cycle. Customer sentiments shift, budgets fluctuate, and adaptable people can ride out all those changes.
2. Analytical thinking
Analytical thinking is a range of cognitive skills that help you parse information, assess it critically, and develop creative, rational solutions. 72% of companies expect analytical skills to rise in importance between 2023 and 2027.
Cross-functional analytics skills include data interpretation, problem-solving, critical thinking, problem synthesis, and data modeling. Each is essential to succeed in modern workplaces where data-driven decision-making is a given.
There’s more of a focus and an interest in having people with analytical thinking, and people with creativity.
Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum
3. Management
Management skills indicate how well someone can organize and influence others to do assigned work. Strong people leaders excel in communication, conflict resolution, mentorship, problem-solving, time and task management, and accountability. But they’re also hard to find in the talent market.
Almost two-thirds (63%) of European startup employees say only a fraction of managers at their company are well-equipped to take on the role. Many don’t know how to lead or communicate well. That’s problematic because a bad manager costs companies around the world billions in lost productivity and is the number one reason why people quit their jobs.
🔥 Unsure how to find employees with great management skills? Learn how to spot leaders with great management skills.
4. Creative thinking
Creative thinking (and creativity in general) is another skill consistently mentioned in the Future of Work reports.
The demand for creative thinking will grow faster in the next five years, by 73%, than the demand for analytical thinking.
World Economic Forum
Creativity in the workplace refers to the ability to think differently about a problem and a motivation to produce new and valuable things. It’s about coming up with a solution others may not have considered.
Another aspect is being open-minded, receptive to unconventional ideas, and enthusiastic in your approach to testing those options. Human ingenuity will be crucial to driving differentiation and further innovation.
AI systems cannot produce new ideas independently; they need expert input and fine-tuning. And for that, businesses need their people equipped with creative thinking abilities.
5. Communication skills
There’s no surprise that communication is one of the top in-demand skills. Every business needs people with the right communication style to build rapport with coworkers, customers, and other stakeholders.
Communication is also the crux of effective collaboration. Lack of alignment between teams (courtesy of poor communication), negatively impacts project outcomes. So do other negative practices of shifting blame, concealing information, or just perpetually forgetting to share updates with colleagues.
To find strong communicators, companies use skill assessments for written, verbal, active listening, and async communication skills early in the hiring process.
Business communication is among the top global emergent professional skills, rising in demand by 19% at the end of 2024.
Udemy 2024 Global Workplace Learning Index
6. Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage your emotional responses and maintain a high awareness of how others are feeling and the effect you have on them. Empathy, self-awareness, good listening skills, and sensitivity are examples of emotional intelligence in action.
Employees with high levels of emotional intelligence can motivate other team members, resolve conflicts quickly (or avoid them altogether), and create a positive work environment. So, it remains a #1 leadership skill for the future, according to WEF.
Discover why leaders with emotional intelligence stand out in this Harvard Business School video.
7. Leadership skills
Good leaders can inspire teams to do their best even during tough times. This is an essential skill in companies that experience a lot of change (startups, tech-focused companies, etc.). Strong leaders also share traits like integrity, good communication skills, gratitude, and influence.
Great leaders know how to attain and retain team trust. High trust in leadership leads to higher employee engagement and better physiological safety at the workplace. This, in turn, improves the overall company culture, which attracts more people to work for or do business with your company.
8. Life-long learning
As mentioned earlier, skill sets now become obsolete in a matter of years. A willingness to upskill and continuously gain new knowledge is staying employable. It also maximizes your options for exploring new career paths through internal mobility.
57% of workers pursue training outside of work. Many more also take advantage of the mushrooming internal learning & development (L&D) opportunities. If you don’t invest in sharpening your skills, you risk finding yourself at the industry outskirts.
9. Taking ownership
Employees who take ownership or responsibility for their tasks are a big asset to their team and the organization. They can be trusted to consistently complete their duties on time and at a high-quality level.
With the nature of teamwork and team structures changing — smaller, cross-functional teams, remote-first culture, flat hierarchies — it’s even more important for employees to be autonomous, reliable, and dependable.
A strong work ethic is the top skill companies are looking for in new hires in 2025.
ADP
10. Sales skills
Sales skills, like persuasion, negotiation, and relationship building, aren’t something only a sales team needs. Whether you work in HR or project management, you constantly ‘sell’ your agenda and influence others.
By learning how to build better arguments, present concepts, overcome objections, and mediate conflicts, you’ll always remain an indispensable asset (and someone who can comfortably justify their value for the company).
11. Teamwork
Working together well as a team means smooth work handovers, fast issue resolution, more effective decision-making, and better team outputs. As workflows become more complex and organizations more distributed, employers seek out better team players. The demand for this went up by 49.98% over the last year.
Because people skills are going to come more to the center of individual career growth, and people-to-people collaboration is going to come into the center more for company growth.
LinkedIn VP Aneesh Raman
Technical skills
The demand for tech talent will outstrip the supply until at least 2026. Companies continue to have difficulties with hiring for cybersecurity, technical support, cloud computing, AI and ML, and big data analytics.

Green jobs in the renewable energy sector are also growing twice as fast as the available worker supply. Only 1 in 8 workers globally have one or more green skills employers need today and in the future.
Based on the industry predictions, the following technical skills will remain in high demand in the long term.
12. Artificial intelligence (AI)
AI is hands-down the hottest skill on the market as companies continue to invest in new machine learning analytics models, industrial robotics solutions, and generative AI assistants.
Postings for AI jobs are growing 3.5x faster than for all jobs. For every AI job posting in 2012, there are now seven job postings in 2024.
PwC
Countries like Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the US, and the UK, among a dozen others, have already added AI skills to their occupations shortage lists.
What’s more interesting, though, is that skills sought by employers are changing at a 25% higher rate in roles most exposed to AI. No, it doesn’t mean everyone should learn ML and DL basics. However, more workers will need to get comfortable with critically reviewing algorithmic data or interacting with various ‘copilot’ apps.
13. Digital literacy
Digital literacy is the capability to confidently use different modern technologies in your day-to-day work. For example, use digital workplace applications, know how to configure and when to use a VPN tool, or how to do online research in the era of fake news and deepfakes.
92% of job posts already include requirements for digital skills alongside more traditional competencies. But not all workers have them.
As part of a UK Consumer Digital Index 2024 study, Lloyds Bank measured how different employee groups perform on 20 essential digital work tasks, such as setting privacy settings, accessing a payslip online, or using digital productivity apps.
While 82% of participants had some of the essential digital skills for work, only 48% could complete all 20 tasks. Interestingly, 63% of 55+ can’t do all 20 tasks, but so do 48% of 18- to 24-year-olds. One in five tech workers didn’t complete all tasks — and so did 43% of people with a Master’s or PhD degree.
Those who lack digital literacy will be at a severe disadvantage when it comes to competing for jobs and business opportunities by 2030, whatever career path they decide to follow.
Bernard Marr
14. Software development
Software development is a broad set of competencies for creating, designing, deploying, and supporting software systems. It is yet another occupation where talent demand keeps skyrocketing, to the point that some 62% of leaders believe they’ll never have enough tech staff to deliver on all planned initiatives.
BairesDev found the most in-demand skills for developers in 2025 will be core technical knowledge of React, .NET, Python, Node, and Java — mostly used in full-stack development.
However, the fastest growing skills in demand also include Flutter (+302%) for mobile app development, Terraform (+222%) for data infrastructure management, and Angular (+206%) for front-end web app development.
15. SQL
Structured Query Language (SQL) is a common programming language for database management. As corporate data reserves grow and more companies invest in data analytics, this technical skill is highly sought after and well paid! The median base pay for SQL developers in the US is $116,881 per year, and that’s without any other employment benefits and perks.
16. Finance
Business model transformations and new product development require substantial investments. Yet, corporate profits are down in many industries due to inflation, reduced sales volumes, and thinner profit margins.
Who can help with those problems? People with strong financial skills. The Institute of Financial Operations and Leadership named financial analysis, automation expertise, and fraud prevention among the most in-demand skills for 2025.
17. Python
Python continues to be one of the most popular programming languages for software development. It’s also the ‘star’ in big data analytics and machine learning projects. So naturally, the demand for Python chops is high. It was the ‘most desired’ programming language in 2024, according to StackOverflow.
18. Java
Java is another popular programming language for web applications and Android app development. It consistently ranks among the top five most popular coding languages, along with Python and the C family of languages on the TIOBE Index.
Although Kotlin is gaining popularity among Android developers, Java skills will still be vital for working on Android projects in 2025. Basic and advanced Java programming skills will remain indispensable for any enterprise environment.
19. Data analysis
Data analysis indicates your ability to collect, interpret, and draw decisions from data. In business today and in the future, data analysis and data management skills are essential for getting key business insight from a vast pool of data.
Data analytics skills have consistently dominated the market, with a 52% increase between 2019 and 2024, accounting for 8% of global job postings in 2024. Not just for prolific data scientists but also for a variety of roles in finance, marketing, technology, and operations, as well as good data analytics skills.
44% of companies need more people with data analysis skills. 40% of junior employees want to sharpen it over the next year.
Workforce Skills Gap Trends 2024
20. Web design
Web design will remain an important skill in 2025 and beyond, as any successful business needs to have a digital presence. The field, however, is rapidly evolving. Web designers are now expected to have a wider skill set covering UX, 3D motion design, and augmented reality. Voice interface optimization and AI chatbot integration are also something web designers are expected to know.
21. JavaScript
JavaScript (JS) is the language of front-end development. Along with its two siblings, HTML and CSS, JavaScript forms the core of standard web technology. It’s one of the few programming languages that works with all popular browsers. It’s also one of the few that can be used for front-end, back-end, and full-stack development, plus server-side programming. Because of its versatility, JS remains an in-demand skill.
22. Cloud computing skills
Cloud computing basically means a system where all computing — from storage, software, networking, and intelligence — happens in the cloud. For businesses, cloud computing is a good infrastructure choice because it’s scalable, flexible, and cost-effective.
As cloud adoption continues, companies keep searching for experienced cloud engineers, architects, and administrators. The most in-demand cloud computing skills include knowledge of AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform ecosystems, API knowledge, database management, DevOps, CI/CD, network management, cloud security, and storage optimization.
98% of companies consider attracting cloud engineering talent as a top priority for their organizations in the coming year.
The Cloud Skills Report
23. UX/UI design
UX design is all about creating seamless user experiences by understanding exactly what users want and designing interfaces that fulfill those needs. UI design, on the other hand, focuses on creating interfaces with an aesthetically appealing visual design. The two are connected at the hip. You can’t succeed with a functional product lacking visual appeal or a beautiful one with a complex learning curve.
It’s not just hip startups that recognize this. The UK government is on a hiring spree and plans to hire 2,500 tech and digital design roles by June 2025. Banks like JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley also established new dedicated UX divisions to lead digital banking experience transformations. And more UX/UI jobs are emerging in sectors like healthcare, insurance, and education.
24. Operations
Operations management is the process of planning, controlling, and supervising processes and delivery. The goal of operations management is to increase corporate productivity — and that’s what most businesses are after.
68% of businesses say improving operational efficiencies is their main priority for growth.
To achieve it, they’ll need people with good analytical thinking, great project management skills, and niche technical expertise. In the logistics sector, ‘skills and people shortages’ are the main blockers to digital transformations. The healthcare industry has a similar problem.
Professionals with a working knowledge of process improvement techniques, change management, workflow automation, and data analysis will remain in high demand in the labor market.
25. QA testing
Quality assurance (QA) is a critical component of any software development cycle. QA engineers identify bugs, security flaws, and interface inconsistencies in software, ensuring their product quality remains high.
Cybercrime remains on the rise, and AI poses new data security risks. In response, companies are double-down on hiring QA staff. Between 2022 and 2023, the demand for software quality assurance analysts and testers in the US is expected to increase by 20%.
New skills on the horizon for 2025
Some brand-new skill sets have also emerged in response to the market changes, and they are rapidly gaining demand among employers.
⚙️ Prompt engineering
Prompt engineering is one of the hottest new AI jobs that doesn’t require strong technical chops. Prompt engineers design and fine-tune generative AI model commands to ensure the algorithms provide relevant, safe, and meaningful user outputs.
Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are powerful but not all mighty. They’re prone to hallucinations — nonsensical, erroneous, or no-existing outputs. The algorithms have also been known to produce biased results on topics ranging from politics to ableism. That’s problematic as most people don’t fact-check the provided information. It’s the job of prompt engineers to meticulously test Gen AI algorithms and create guidelines for using them responsibly.
The top skills for prompt engineers include strong verbal and written communication, basic knowledge of natural language processing (NLP) methods, analytical thinking, attention to detail, and a great deal of patience. But the gig pays well. The average prompt engineer salary is $182,781 per year in the US.
⚠️ AI risk management
AI has a transformative impact on many workplace processes, aiding workers in everything from content generation and data analytics to financial fraud monitoring and autonomous manufacturing. But AI systems also come with inherent risks. 59% of IT leaders identify AI as a potential threat as it increases cybersecurity, data privacy, intellectual property infringement, and environmental risks.
Regulators also recognize the existential risks poorly designed AI systems pose for society, ranging from major financial losses to pervasive misinformation. Europe has developed an AI Act designed to reign in AI risks through compliance requirements for operators. The US lawmakers introduced over 700 bills to regulate its usage.
To stay compliant, organizations now seek experienced AI risk managers who can help ensure AI system security, explainability, and transparency.
Common duties include risk and impact assessments of adopting or integrating various AI solutions, risk mitigation plan development, ensuring compliance with responsible AI standards and applicable regulations, and cross-domain work with different business units on proper adherence to these.
🖊️ Consultative selling
Consultative selling puts relationship building at the center of the sales process. Instead of giving the traditional pitch of “great product features,” “low price,” or “good value for money,” consultative selling focuses on learning about the customer’s needs first.
Instead of pushing for a solution, consultative sellers listen to the problem and educate the prospect about different options (not just from their brand). The goal is to provide customers with just enough information to make an informed decision, which enables trust and loyalty in the long term.
To succeed in collaborative selling, you’ll need strong active listening skills, high emotional intelligence, and good customer relationship management skills.
Salespeople don’t typically like the hardcore pitch tactics we’ve been taught. They’ve got to do it, or at least they think they have to until they discover options like this. Sales should be about having real conversations, not forcing a product down someone’s throat.
Matt Easton, Sales Coach and Founder of Easton University
🧑💻 Virtual collaboration
Remote work is the present and the future (because most talents won’t be shoehorned back to the cubicle). With that, virtual collaboration will remain a must-have skill. But it will evolve in new ways.
Almost everyone already knows how to use video conferencing tools and digital workplace apps for async and real-time collaboration. But far fewer people have the skill sets to build a strong virtual rapport and effective team processes without resorting to meeting madness, or helicopter management.
Digital workplaces now require more people who know how to balance async and real-time communication, independent and collaborative digital work, high process efficiency, and the necessary quality gates.
Great remote managers recognize that presenteeism doesn’t equal productivity (and vice versa). They manage results and outcomes rather than employees’ logged desk time or activities. They continuously build. They cultivate a team understanding of how different priorities work together to produce the intended product on time and efficiently.
You have to trust your employees in a remote team. Letting go of your own control issues might be the biggest challenge in leading a remote team, especially if you started out with a more ‘traditional team.’
Annika Helendi, Toggl Plan
🌳 Sustainability
Sustainability means ensuring our decisions today won’t compromise future generations’ ability to live fulfilling lives in safe, green environments. The global transition to more sustainable business practices — regenerative agriculture, renewable energy usage, and electric transportation — requires heaps of new skills.
In-demand green job skills include:
- Technical skills required to adopt or implement new sustainability technologies, processes, and products to reduce energy, materials, and water consumption.
- Soft skills linked to sustainable thinking, acting, and influencing others to adopt better behaviors and practices.
Green talents are in demand in every sector, from the construction and utility industries to the technology, information, and media industries. The share of jobs requiring green skills increased by 60% as AI gained further traction and companies added data center capacities.
LinkedIn identified some of the hottest green skills on the global market right now:
Supply chain decarbonization | Sustainable management |
Environmental due diligence | Environmental protection |
Sustainable building and retrofitting | Water & wastewater design |
Renewable energy transition | Climate change mitigation |
Job seekers with these green skills or titles see a 54.6% higher hiring rate than the workforce overall. In the US, this rises to 80.3% higher, with Ireland 79.8% higher, according to the company.
By 2030, one in five jobs will lack the green talent to fill it. By 2050, this gap will balloon to one in two jobs.
LinkedIn
How to hire top talent with today’s most in-demand skills
With skills testing, of course! 😏
Skills testing puts the focus on candidates’ actual capabilities and through demonstration of their skills, highlighting the top talent in your recruiting funnel.
While Toggl Hire is a full-cycle hiring platform, our skills assessments are our standout candidate assessment feature. Create a customized skills test by job title in a few clicks and automate the (otherwise laborious) hunt for those with in-demand skills. Our testing engine contains more than 18,000 questions created by subject matter experts!
Try Toggl Hire now so your new hires will be ready to tackle the world of work today and be prepared for what’s ahead in 2025 and beyond. You can sign up for free, so there’s no reason not to test it out.
Elena is a freelance writer, producing journalist-style content that doesn’t leave the reader asking “so what." From the future of work to the latest technology trends, she loves exploring new subjects to produce compelling and culturally relevant narratives for brands. In her corporate life, Elena successfully managed remote freelance teams and coached junior marketers.