30 in-demand skills to prioritise in the workplace for the next 5 years

In a world that continuously punts digital transformation and the fourth industrial revolution, its hard to imagine what the careers of the future are going to look like in order to successfully participate and accommodate these. Its also interesting to see how the demand for certain skills and professions will change and translate on a global level too. Luckily we have online course provider Coursera to provide some guidance in this space through their industry skills report for 2021, which in turn provides a breakdown of  some of the most in-demand skills around the world at the moment, especially considering the inevitable ripple effects of the pandemic.

The report focuses on 26 skills particularly across technology, business, and data science sectors. Unsurprisingly there were some commonalities across all three in terms of how they have had to pivot pre to post pandemic which of course includes an accelerated drive towards more advanced skills in the technology sector, which also needs to factor in the ability to work more remotely or in isolation when needed. Essentially a level of flexibility and agility will be required in future job candidates as the current career climate is an interesting one, and it seems it’s a climate that is here to stay – at least according to Microsoft’s data. As outlined in Coursera’s report “The rate of digital transformation due to pandemic lockdowns was substantial. Microsoft data shows that two years’ worth of transformation was concentrated into two months. And in the last weeks of March 2020, for example, there was as much broadband growth as some experts expected for the entire year. Across industries, businesses are evolving despite the unplanned change to remote work requirements, and increased broadband use is just one indicator.”

So, with all of that to consider – what will the job market hold in the next five years or so? Coursera reckons 149 million new jobs will be the result of the accelerated transformation, particularly in the following fields: software development, cyber security, data analytics, media intelligence, and cloud computing to name a few. The idea is to “fuel this growth” even further by incorporating more skilled workers in these spaces and industries into the market, which will in turn lead to the creation of the estimated 149 million jobs. According to Coursera’s “analysis of trending skills in the technology and data science domains shows that people are highly interested in learning software engineering and data analysis skills. Many of the trending skills in those domains can also be applied to cloud computing and cybersecurity; however, we expect to see an increase in interest for those specific skill sets as well.” That being said, purely being experienced in the above may not be enough, with additional skill layering being required in the likes of Microsoft Excel, Digital Marketing, Project Management, behavioral Economics and Business Design to name a few.