The Future of Skills: What’s Changing, What’s Emerging, and What Matters Most

As we look toward 2030, the global workforce continues to navigate rapid transformation—but there’s a noticeable shift in tone. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, skill disruption remains significant, but the pace is stabilizing. And that’s good news—it means we’re learning to adapt more effectively and strategically.

Skill Change Is Slowing, but Still Substantial

The data tells a compelling story:

• 39% of core skills required today are expected to change by 2030.
• That’s down from 44% in 2023 and a dramatic shift from 57% in 2020, signaling a moderating trend in skill volatility.
• This slowdown likely stems from increased investment in learning and development—50% of workers have now completed training, reskilling, or upskilling, up from 41% just a year earlier.

In short, we’re catching up. But we can’t get complacent.

The Top Core Skills for 2025

Employers are zeroing in on a powerful mix of cognitive, emotional, and digital capabilities. The top five core skills include:

1. Analytical Thinking – The top priority for 70% of employers.
2. Resilience, Flexibility & Agility – Essential in fast-changing environments.
3. Leadership & Social Influence – Collaboration and influence are emerging as defining traits.
4. Creative Thinking
5. Motivation & Self-awareness

Also rounding out the top ten: technological literacy, empathy, curiosity and lifelong learning, talent management, and customer orientation. These paint a clear picture—success isn’t built on hard or soft skills alone. It’s the synergy between them that counts.

The Training Imperative

While skill change is slowing, the urgency to train is intensifying. Employers cite skill gaps as the #1 barrier to business transformation:

• 63% see them as a major hurdle.
• In response, 85% plan to prioritize upskilling.
• 70% will hire for new skills, while 40% may reduce roles that don’t evolve.
• 50% of organizations will shift employees from declining roles into emerging ones.

North America leads the charge, with 67% of its workforce projected to require reskilling by 2030. In other words, standing still is not an option.

Leadership Focus: The Human Edge in a Digital Era

To meet this moment, leadership must evolve. Two recent sources—Kara Dennison in Forbes and the World Economic Forum—offer insight into the leadership skills that will matter most in 2025 and beyond.

Kara Dennison’s 6 Leadership Skills to Prioritize:

• Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Crucial for trust-building, especially in hybrid teams.
• Technology and AI Literacy: Equips leaders to integrate AI ethically and strategically.
• Curiosity and Agile Learning: Fuels innovation and adaptability.
• Change Management: Guides teams through digital transformation.
• Creativity and Analytical Thinking: Combines vision with data.
• Communicative Intelligence: Drives alignment and builds trust.

World Economic Forum’s 3 Leadership Priorities:

1. Emphasize Human-Centric Skills in the AI Era
   Communication, creativity, and collaboration will continue to set human leaders apart.
2. Cultivate an Adaptive Mindset
   Agility and continuous learning are no longer “nice to have”—they’re essential.
3. Prioritize Clear and Inclusive Communication
   Diverse perspectives, open dialogue, and inclusive practices are the bedrock of innovation.

These frameworks converge on a single truth: the most effective leaders of the future will blend technical fluency with human-centric values. For public procurement professionals, this means leading with empathy, fostering adaptability, and strengthening communication across diverse stakeholder groups.

What This Means for Public Procurement Professionals

This shift reinforces what procurement leaders already know: staying still isn’t an option. Whether you’re mastering data-driven decision-making, cultivating emotional intelligence, or embracing digital fluency, professional growth is now a strategic advantage—not just a personal one.

And for those of us designing learning pathways for others, this is a defining opportunity. We must build development programs that blend analytical thinking, technological skills, and leadership agility. That’s how we future-proof not only our teams—but our impact.

The bottom line?
The workforce of 2030 won’t be built on yesterday’s playbook. It will be shaped by leaders and learners who lean into change, invest in people, and lead with clarity and purpose.

References

Dennison, Kara. “6 Leadership Skills to Prioritize in 2025.” Forbes, February 21, 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/karadennison/2024/02/21/6-leadership-skills-to-prioritize-in-2025/

World Economic Forum. The Future of Jobs Report 2025. Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2024. https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/  

North, Madeleine. “3 Things Leaders Should Prioritize in 2025.” World Economic Forum, January 28, 2025. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/3-things-leaders-should-prioritize-in-2025/.