New Economy Skills Unlocking the Human Advantage 2025

Regional variation adds another layer. In North America, creativity, leadership, motivation and resilience declined more sharply than elsewhere, whereas Latin America recorded the largest fall in teaching skills. These differences suggest that the pandemic’s impact on human-centric skills was shaped not only by the nature of work but also by regional contexts and organizational responses. Data on time-to-skill acquisition further shows that while a small share of learners (around 25%) demonstrate progress within weeks, the majority (50–75%) need several months of sustained practice to build human-centric skills. The wide gap between early and late learners suggests some benefit from prior experience or natural inclination, while others depend more heavily on structured opportunities and organizational support. Existing research highlights the critical role of organizational factors – such as a sense of belonging, perceived support and psychological safety – in facilitating learning and skill development.17 Taken together, these findings highlight that the stability of human-centric skills is not guaranteed. They are sensitive to disruption, context-dependent and require deliberate cultivation. Yet, they can be rebuilt through workplace cultures and learning strategies that actively sustain them. Learning timelines for upskilling human-centric skills FIGURE 10 Number of days needed to upskill in human-centric skills. Data shows average numbers of days required by 25%, 50% (represented by a dot), 75% and 90% of each cohort. 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800Curiosity and lifelong learning Motivation and self-awareness Leadership and social influence Creativity and problem solving Empathy and active listening Teaching, mentoring and coaching Resilience, flexibility and agility Days to acquire a skill245 (50%) 323 (75%) 317 (75%) 313 (75%) 306 (75%) 627 (90%) 519 (90%)416 (75%) 653 (90%) 631 (90%) 591 (90%) 281 (75%) 67 (25%) 62 (25%) 248 (75%)129 (50%)141 (50%)66 (25%)151 (50%)71 (25%)155 (50%)69 (25%)156 (50%)72 (25%)158 (50%)161 (25%) 662 (90%)749 (90%) Notes: Skills are assessed at onboarding and at multiple points during coaching. Values show the days needed for 25%, 50%, 75% and 90% of learners to acquire a skill, excluding those who left early or lacked sufficient data. For example, “25%: 161 days” means 25% of participants acquired the skill within 161 days. Source: BetterUp; World Economic Forum, Global Skills Taxonomy. Invisibility of human-centric skills in hiring Another challenge is that human-centric skills are often treated as “givens”. An Indeed analysis of job postings from May 2024 to April 2025 shows that even when human-centric skills are critical to long-term adaptability, they are not always explicitly mentioned in job descriptions (Figure 12). Employers tend to emphasize skills such as communication, leadership and dependability. The relative invisibility of other skills, especially curiosity and lifelong learning, and creativity, suggests they are assumed competencies rather than explicit requirements (Box 3). This creates a disconnect. For instance, employers consistently project creative thinking as one of the fastest-growing skills in demand by 2030 (Figure 3), yet it remains among the least mentioned in hiring signals today. New Economy Skills: Unlocking the Human Advantage 17