New Economy Skills Unlocking the Human Advantage 2025

Assessing human-centric skills Human-centric skills are far more difficult to measure than technical knowledge, as they are nuanced, context-dependent and expressed differently across cultures and settings. What counts as effective communication or leadership in one environment may not translate directly to another. Nevertheless, without effective assessment, learners are unable to monitor progress, educators cannot adapt instruction and employers face difficulties identifying and validating these capabilities. The following principles help leaders set new standards for assessing human-centric skills. See the whole human: Leaders must move beyond static, one-dimensional measures and assess the whole human, capturing how individuals think, adapt and apply their skills across diverse, real-world contexts. The most effective systems combine standardized benchmarks for comparability, performance-based for authenticity and reflective tools for growth. Technology is increasingly bridging gaps across these approaches. AI-powered adaptive testing can adjust to individual performance in real time, while virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) simulations recreate complex, real-world problem-solving situations. Digital platforms aggregate results and peer feedback at scale, and offline or edge AI tools extend these opportunities to low-connectivity settings, ensuring scalability and inclusiveness. Make it real: Standardized tests offer comparability but often reduce complex skills to simplified constructs and rarely capture their real-world application. Performance-based assessments such as simulations, role-plays or project evaluations provide richer, more authentic demonstrations and formative feedback. While they can be resource- intensive and difficult to scale, several AI-powered tools can reduce costs by enabling people to simulate real-world experiences. For example, a manufacturing firm could use a digital twin of its production line to evaluate how team leads coordinate under changing conditions – assessing adaptability, leadership and problem solving in real time. Track thinking, not just results: Human-centric skills are expressed differently across contexts, and so one-off assessments rarely capture adaptability and growth. Instead, educators and employers should evaluate how people think and learn, not just what they produce. Digital portfolios and learning platforms can help track progress over time by curating projects, reflections and feedback that show development in real-world settings. Skills should be evaluated through authentic, context-rich experiences that reveal how individuals approach challenges, adapt across settings and collaborate across teams and communities. Tracking both processes and outcomes better reflects the dynamic, context-dependent nature of these skills. AI tools can support this by analysing how people approach problems – the diversity of ideas explored, response times, collaboration patterns and openness to feedback. To translate these principles into practice: –Educators can redesign curricula and teaching methods to include real-world projects that promote collaboration and critical thinking; help learners reflect on thought processes and deploy human skills; and maintain digital portfolios that capture both outcomes and the thinking processes. –Employers can use peer feedback to evaluate not just what employees did, but how they did it (i.e. were they collaborative?); signal the importance of human-centric skills by explicitly calling them out in job descriptions and assessing for them when hiring; and work with industry partners to set shared standards for these skills. –Governments can establish national guidelines and funding frameworks that embed human- centric skills into curricula and qualification systems; support performance-based and reflective assessment methods; and ensure they are fair, scalable and comparable. Developing human-centric skills Human-centric skills are cultivated through deliberate practice, feedback and supportive environments rather than passive exposure. The following principles can help leaders set new standards for developing these skills. Prioritize new economy skills: Embedding structured opportunities for human-centric skill development into education systems and workplaces is essential. Instructor-led and on- the-job training help learners integrate skills into daily practice. While creativity and problem-solving or communication skills are often embedded in curricula, emotional intelligence and learning skills are still assumed to develop naturally. Developing human-centric skills also requires a mindset shift – they must be treated as equally important to technical competencies across education systems, workforce training and policy agendas. Create safe spaces: Human-centric skills grow best in environments that encourage experimentation, failure, feedback and reflection. Evidence from the SSES 2023 shows that students who receive regular feedback, especially on their strengths, report higher levels of motivation, persistence, creativity and trust. Balanced feedback, combined with supportive relationships and peer interaction, are essential for promoting self-confidence and socio-emotional growth.20 Leaders must move beyond static, one- dimensional measures and assess the whole human, capturing how individuals think, adapt and apply their skills. New Economy Skills: Unlocking the Human Advantage 27