7 Trends Driving Change in the Skills Landscape

1. Workforce Preferences

Even though workplaces are open again and not facing pandemic-related restrictions, 60% of employees with jobs that can be done remotely have stated that they would prefer to work remotely all or most of the time. This represents a significant shift in how teams will work together, presenting a skills challenge for employers.
It also represents an opportunity for employers who offer remote work, as there is no longer a location restriction when hiring. Allowing remote work can broaden access to larger talent pools and help ease some hiring issues.

2. Growing Importance of Social Skills

As automation increases, personalization becomes more important to consumers. Social skills are growing in importance, as there are some things computers still can’t do as well as people. This includes clear and powerful communication, digital presence (eg. livestreaming, social media, etc.), and forming personal connections with customers. While these processes can be augmented by tech, there is still a need for human involvement.

3. Workplace Tech Infiltration

Tech is becoming an essential part of most jobs today. Because of this, companies are raising the minimum tech skills requirements for new hires. More advanced tech skills are valuable to employers, but are currently rare in industries not directly related to tech.

4. Increase in Service Jobs

Automation means that many jobs become redundant. As machines either take over jobs completely or increase efficiency to the point where fewer people are needed for the same level of work, there will be fewer jobs available to low-skill workers and laborers. However, service jobs are likely to increase, as these jobs can’t usually be automated.

5. Finding Meaning through Work

Employees in white collar jobs are prioritizing meaning and impact over salary and benefits, to a point. Many people are in search of a job that allows them to live the life they want and have a positive impact on the world. Compensation is not always the top factor modern employees are considering when searching for a job.

6. Upskilling and Reskilling Employees

There is a greater expectation that employees will be upskilled in their existing positions or reskilled to new positions as companies adapt automated solutions. This is especially true in operations-heavy industries, like transportation and manufacturing.

7. Changing Consumer Preferences

Consumers have increasingly turned to online interactions with businesses, a trend that accelerated during lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. This creates a skills gap for companies that don’t have a robust online system already, including website maintenance and managing an ecommerce store.