New Economy Skills Unlocking the Human Advantage 2025

Industry trends Figure 15 shows that sectors such as insurance and pension management, which value technical complexity and intensive customer interaction, rank highest in demand for resilience, analytical thinking, curiosity, motivation and empathy. Electronics also stands out, placing strong emphasis on creativity and foundational skills such as reading, writing and mathematics, reflecting the need to blend innovative design and problem solving with precise technical communication. Similarly, telecommunications assign high importance to leadership, driven by the need to coordinate large workforces while adapting to rapid technological change. Industries built on complex processes, such as real estate, supply chain and transport, and retail, place greater reliance on dependability and attention to detail, while mining, agriculture and healthcare emphasize systems thinking. Education, telecommunications and agriculture stand out for their demand for teaching and mentoring. By contrast, the government and public sector consistently reports lower demand for creative thinking, curiosity and systems thinking compared to other industries. Human-centric skill importance by 2030 FIGURE 16 Automotive and aerospaceAnalytical thinking Creative thinking -40 0 100 -40 0 100-40 0 100 -40 0 100 -40 0 100 -40 0 100 -40 0 100 -40 0 100 -40 0 100 -40 0 100 -40 0 100 -40 0 100Curiosity and lifelong learning Dependability and attention to detail Empathy and active listening Motivation and self-awareness Multi-lingualism Reading, writing and mathematics Resilience, flexibility and agility Systems thinking Teaching and mentoringEducation and training TelecommunicationsSupply chain and transport Electronics Mining and metals Accommodation, food and leisure Real estate Professional servicesAutomotive and aerospace Telecommunications Oil and gas Chemical and advanced materials Real estate Chemical and advanced materialsAutomotive and aerospace Medical and healthcare services Government and public sector ElectronicsEducation and training Advanced manufacturingChemical and advanced materials Government and public sector Electronics Real estateAdvanced manufacturing Real estateChemical and advanced materials Energy technology and utilities Oil and gas Professional servicesEducation and training TelecommunicationsInsurance and pensions management Accommodation, food and leisure Mining and metals Government and public sectorInsurance and pensions management Medical and healthcare servicesEducation and training Government and public sector Accommodation, food and leisure Electronics Automotive and aerospace Chemical and advanced materialsInformation and technology services Accommodation, food and leisure Agriculture, forestry and fishing Government and public sector Mining and metals Advanced manufacturingInsurance and pensions management Chemical and advanced materials Government and public sector Accommodation, food and leisureTelecommunications Medical and healthcare services Agriculture, forestry and fishing Government and public sector Mining and metals Oil and gas Education and trainingAutomotive and aerospace Financial services and capital markets Agriculture, forestry and fishing ElectronicsAgriculture, forestry and fishing Information and technology servicesTelecommunications Accommodation, food and leisure Oil and gas Mining and metals Decreasing value Increasing value Global net valueLeadership and social influence Notes: Share of employers that predict skills will increase (light blue bars) or decrease (dark blue bars) in importance by 2030 (%). The dashed line represents the net difference between the share of employers anticipating an increase and those anticipating a decrease. The share of employers predicting skill stability is excluded from the calculation. Source: World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024. New Economy Skills: Unlocking the Human Advantage 23