The most in-demand skills in 2025

What do the jobs of the future look like? What skills will we need to remain competitive in the workplaces of tomorrow? What jobs will no longer exist in 10 years?

These are the big picture questions the World Economic Forum (WEF) strives to answer each year in its 'Future of Jobs' Report.  

The report is based on survey data from more than 1,000 employers across 22 industries and 55 economies from around the world. It explores how jobs and skills are evolving in relation to socio-economic and technological trends, and what it means for the global labour market.    

But what does it mean for your organisation?

Through the findings, the WEF identifies a set of ‘core skills’ – skills that are considered necessary to perform essential job duties – and ranks them according to how important they are expected to become over the next five years.  

In the 2025 Report, a total of 26 core skills were named, with the top three being analytical thinking, resilience, flexibility and agility, and leadership and social influence. 

Understanding these core skills, and how they’re expected to change, should be on the radar of all L&D, HR and organisational development professionals, as well as senior leaders.  

Why? According to the 2025 Report, employers expect 39 per cent of their workers’ core skills to change by 2030, and 63 per cent of employers consider skills gaps in the labour market the main barrier to business transformation, as demonstrated in the diagrams below.  

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To help you stay ahead of the curve, we’ve summarised the top three core skills for 2025, as well as some strategies for upskilling in each area.   

#1: Analytical thinking  

According to the Report, analytical thinking is the most sought-after core skill among employers in 2025, with seven out of 10 companies considering it as essential. 

Analytical thinking enables employees to navigate complex, data-driven environments, solve problems, and make informed decisions. Plus, with AI increasingly handling routine tasks, analytical thinking ensures human workers can focus on strategic, evidence-based decision-making.  

The Report found that the top three industries that believe analytical thinking skills will increase in importance over the next five years are education and training, supply chain and transportation and automotive and aerospace.  

#2: Resilience, flexibility and agility 

The second most highly ranked core skill (or set of skills) for 2025 is resilience, flexibility and agility.  

Resilience, flexibility and agility have seen a substantial increase in importance since the last Future of Jobs report, increasing by 17 percentage points. This underscores the critical role of adaptability and collaboration alongside cognitive skills, and proves that resilience is more than just a buzzword.  

Employees that demonstrate skills in resilience, flexibility, and agility can adapt to rapid technological advancements, economic shifts, and evolving workplace demands by quickly learning new skills, embracing change, and are able to remain productive under pressure.  

Resilience, flexibility and agility is considered especially important to employers within the agriculture, forestry and fishing, telecommunications and information and technology services industries.  

#3: Leadership and social influence 

61 per cent of employers consider leadership and social influence to be a core skill for their workforce, placing this skill third on the list. Compared to the last Future of Jobs report, leadership and social influence has also seen a significant uplift in importance, rising by 22 percentage points, emphasising the continued relevance of human-centric skills amid rapid technological advances. 

As remote and hybrid work become more common, strong leadership and influence ensures collaboration, motivation, and productivity among teams, and, in a rapidly changing world, employees who can lead with emotional intelligence, communicate effectively, and build strong relationships are becoming increasingly essential for business success. 

The leadership and social influence skill was reported to be growing in importance for workforces in the automotive and aerospace, telecommunications and education and training industries.  

Upskilling: a top workforce strategy for employers  

A significant proportion of employers surveyed in the Report stated that upskilling their employees was a key workforce strategy for 2025.  

If upskilling your workforce is a priority for your organisation this year, Professional and Continuing Education offers a variety of in-person and online short courses, as well as the opportunity to create bespoke workforce development courses and programs tailored to your organisation, closely aligned to core skills.  

For example, to upskill in analytical thinking, consider enrolling your employees in our strategic thinking short course. To build skills in resilience, flexibility and agility, we offer an online short course on building an agile team, and an in-person short course on increasing your professional and personal effectiveness.  

To develop the leadership and social influence skills of your workforce, we offer a two-day leading and managing people short course, a from team member to team leader short course, and an emotional intelligence at work short course. Alternatively, reach out to our team to discuss a bespoke leadership offering for your organisation or explore online short courses including create energised and empowered teams, manage virtual and hybrid teams and manage team performance.