Geoeconomic fragmentation and economic uncertainty The Future of Jobs Survey also examined the impact of geoeconomic trends on skill evolution. Increasing geoeconomic fragmentation, coupled with the rapid adoption of new technologies and expansion of digital access, has significantly increased cybersecurity concerns.42 These geoeconomic trends have led to a surge in demand for network and cybersecurity skills as organizations seek to protect digital infrastructure from emerging threats. Geoeconomic fragmentation is also driving a need for human-centred skills such as resilience, flexibility, agility, leadership and social influence, and global citizenship. In a world where crises are becoming more frequent, employers need leaders and teams capable of adapting to uncertainty and managing complex social dynamics. Slower economic growth and increased restrictions to global trade are contributing to the increased importance of creative thinking and resilience, flexibility, and agility. These skills are crucial for navigating uncertain economic landscapes, as businesses seek to innovate and remain competitive despite market constraints. Green transition A growing focus on environmental stewardship as a critical skill reflects an evolving alignment between business strategies and sustainability objectives. This rise, driven by climate adaptation efforts, carbon reduction initiatives, and energy generation, storage and distribution technologies, points to a profound shift whereby environmental skills are becoming increasingly integral across diverse sectors. As previously shown in Chapter 2 and Box 2.1, an increasing prioritization of climate adaptation and energy solutions by employers responding to the Future of Jobs Survey is not only evident in skill requirements but also appears as a significant factor in net job growth by 2030. While demand for global citizenship skills is expected by most respondents to remain stable over the next five years, employers that anticipate a rise in its importance cite the convergence of climate-change adaptation, geoeconomic fragmentation and broadening digital access as key factors. This highlights the growing interconnectedness of sustainability and global collaboration, particularly as businesses operate in increasingly fragmented and climate-sensitive environments. Demographic shifts Ongoing demographic shifts, particularly aging and declining workforces in developed economies, are expected to emerge as a significant driver of skill demand. Aging and declining working-age populations are pressing organizations to prioritize talent management, teaching and mentoring and motivation and self-awareness. Alongside these priorities, there is a rising focus on empathy and active listening, resource management, and customer service, highlighting a growing need for interpersonal and operational skills that can address the specific needs of an aging workforce and foster more inclusive work environments. Increasing demand for talent management and motivation and self-awareness skills is also driven by growing working-age populations. Findings reported in Chapter 2 underscore similar patterns, where aging and growing working-age populations are major drivers of growth in jobs across Education, Sales, and Hospitality. These trends reveal the dual role demographic changes play in shaping both job availability and the types of skills needed, emphasizing the interconnectedness of workforce demographics with skills development and talent strategies across sectors. Reskilling and upskilling strategies Having anticipated significant skill disruptions, employers have increasingly invested in reskilling and upskilling initiatives to align workforce skills with evolving demands (see Section 3.1). This section explores training trends, how employers expect to finance their training initiatives, and their expectations regarding the outcomes of these investments. Training needs Future of Jobs Survey respondents indicate that 50% of their workforce has completed training as part of their learning and development initiatives. This reflects a positive global trend compared to 2023, when only 41% of the workforce had received training. The rise in training completion is evident across nearly all industries (Figure 3.8), suggesting a growing recognition of the importance of continuous skill development. However, a few industries stand out from this trend. Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, and Real Estate are the only sectors that have seen a decline in training completion between the two last editions of this report. On the other hand, industries like Insurance and Pensions Management, Supply 3.3 Future of Jobs Report 2025 45