Employers estimate that 44% of workers’ skills though AI and big data is part of fewer strategies, will be disrupted in the next five years. Cognitive it tends to be a more important element when it skills are reported to be growing in importance is included. Leadership and social influence ranks most quickly, reflecting the increasing importance five places higher than suggested by its current of complex problem-solving in the workplace. importance and is the highest ranked attitude. Surveyed businesses report creative thinking to Other skills which are strategically emphasized be growing in importance slightly more rapidly by business are design and user experience (nine than analytical thinking. Technology literacy is places higher), environmental stewardship (10 the third-fastest growing core skill. Self-efficacy places higher), marketing and media (six places skills rank above working with others, in the rate higher) and networks and cybersecurity (five places of increase in importance of skills reported by higher). businesses. The socio-emotional attitudes which businesses consider to be growing in importance Respondents express confidence in developing most quickly are curiosity and lifelong learning; their existing workforce, however, they are resilience, flexibility and agility; and motivation and less optimistic regarding the outlook for talent self-awareness. Systems thinking, AI and big data, availability in the next five years. Accordingly, talent management, and service orientation and organizations identify skills gaps and an inability customer service complete the top 10 growing to attract talent as the key barriers preventing skills. While respondents judged no skills to be industry transformation. In response 48% of in net decline, sizable minorities of companies companies identify improving talent progression and judge reading, writing and mathematics; global promotion processes as a key business practice citizenship; sensory-processing abilities; and that can increase the availability of talent to their manual dexterity, endurance and precision to be of organization, ahead of offering higher wages (36%) declining importance for their workers. and offering effective reskilling and upskilling (34%). Six in 10 workers will require training before Surveyed companies report that investing in 2027, but only half of workers are seen to have learning and on-the-job training and automating access to adequate training opportunities processes are the most common workforce today. The highest priority for skills training from strategies which will be adopted to deliver 2023-2027 is analytical thinking, which is set to their organizations’ business goals. Four in five account for 10% of training initiatives, on average. respondents expect to implement these strategies The second priority for workforce development is to in the next five years. Workforce development is promote creative thinking, which will be the subject most commonly considered to be the responsibility of 8% of upskilling initiatives. Training workers to of workers and managers, with 27% of training utilize AI and big data ranks third among company expected to be furnished by on-the-job training and skills-training priorities in the next five years and coaching, ahead of the 23% by internal training will be prioritized by 42% of surveyed companies. departments and the 16% by employer-sponsored Employers also plan to focus on developing apprenticeships. To close skills gaps, respondents worker’s skills in leadership and social influence expect to reject external training solutions in favour (40% of companies); resilience, flexibility and agility of company-led initiatives. (32%); and curiosity and lifelong learning (30%). Two-thirds of companies expect to see a return A majority of companies will prioritize women on investment on skills training within a year of (79%), youth under 25 (68%) and those the investment, whether in the form of enhanced with disabilities (51%) as part of their DEI cross-role mobility, increased worker satisfaction or programmes. A minority will prioritize those from a enhanced worker productivity. disadvantaged religious, ethnic or racial background (39%), workers over age 55 (36%), those who The skills that companies report to be identify as LGBTQI+ (35%) and those from a low- increasing in importance the fastest are income background (33%). not always reflected in corporate upskilling strategies. Beyond the top-ranked cognitive skills Forty-five percent of businesses see funding are two skills which companies prioritize much more for skills training as an effective intervention highly than would appear according to their current available to governments seeking to connect importance to their workforce: AI and big data as talent to employment. Funding for skills training well as leadership and social influence. Companies ranks ahead of flexibility on hiring and firing rank AI and big data 12 places higher in their skills practices (33%), tax and other incentives for strategies than in their evaluation of core skills, and companies to improve wages (33%), improvements report that they will invest an estimated 9% of their to school systems (31%) and changes to reskilling efforts in it – a greater proportion than the immigration laws on foreign talent (28%). more highly-ranked creative thinking, indicating that Future of Jobs Report 2023 7