As we head into the new year, have you considered how much of your current skill set will still be relevant in the next decade?
According to the Future of Jobs Report 2025, nearly two-fifths — about 39 percent — of the skills you use today may change or become outdated by 2030.
If that figure depresses you, you aren’t alone — but it also presents an exciting opportunity to shape your future through upskilling opportunities like continuing education.
What’s Driving These Changes?
Thanks to technological advances like AI, robotics, automation, and much more, businesses are quickly evolving to stay afloat given a challenging economy and shifting workforce demographics. That means the skills employers value most are changing, too.
As a result, 63 percent of employers say they are facing a skills gap in their workforce. The majority – 85 percent – say they will prioritize upskilling to remedy this, while 70 percent say they’ll hire new staff. About 40 percent expect to reduce staff as their skills become irrelevant.
The report also indicates that climate-change mitigation has been noted as the third-most transformative trend overall – and the top trend related to the green transition. Environmental stewardship also made the report’s list of top 10 fastest growing skills for the first time, making now a great time to educate yourself in sustainability.
To stay competitive — and confident — in your career, learning new skills spanning technology, sustainability and more isn’t just helpful, it’s essential.
What Employers Are Looking For: It’s More Than AI
AI has created 1.3 million jobs already, according to the report, but frontline roles like social work, nursing, and counseling will still be in high demand through the next five years, along with software and application developers. Many companies are seeking workers who have a mix of technology and soft skills, including:
- Analytical thinking
- Resilience
- Flexibility and agility
- Leadership
- AI and big data knowledge
- Cybersecurity and networking abilities
- Technology literacy
Communication, critical thinking and leadership skills are still a priority for many companies, according to a newly released report, “The Future-Proofing Instinct” from Indeed.com and Udemy. The report, which analyzed job postings from the US, United Kingdom, India and Australia, found that while AI is driving 67 percent of employee upskilling efforts–just four percent of the jobs in the analysis mentioned AI.
Tech workers are dedicating the most time to AI upskilling (95 percent), yet only 17 percent of job postings in this area list AI as a fast growing skill. However, the report recommended that while AI may not fully replace humans in the workforce, employees still need to learn how to use the tools to their advantage.
The Benefit of Continuing Education
With so many unknowns in the workforce, it’s worth it for adult learners to upskill and engage in continuing education efforts to help them build a well-rounded resume with technical and soft skills. Doing so can increase your job security and career options, advance your earning potential, and stay current with changing workforce demands.
Online degree or graduate certificate programs offer the flexibility necessary to learn skills while working full-time. Recent research shows that 90 percent of online college graduates say their degree will have a positive return on investment, and 98 percent said they would recommend online education to others.
What’s Next for You?
Whether you’re thinking about boosting your digital skills, sharpening your leadership abilities, or exploring something completely new, continuing education is one of the most effective ways to future-proof your career. UW Online Collaboratives and UW Flexible Option offer courses in a variety of areas including business, technology, and healthcare, in addition to durable skills courses that focus on developing critical thinking skills and AI literacy to help students be even more competitive on the job hunt.