New Economy Skills Unlocking the Human Advantage 2025

Introduction In an age of artificial intelligence (AI) and disruption, the true competitive edge is human. As technology, demographic shifts, the green transition and geoeconomic uncertainty reshape economies, human-centric skills – innovation, creativity and adaptability – will drive resilience, innovation and growth. Once dismissed as “soft”, they are now core differentiators for thriving individuals, high- performing organizations and agile economies. Scaled effectively, these skills can deliver gains far beyond individual employability. At the macro level, they are engines of resilience and growth, boosting productivity, sparking innovation and supporting economies to adapt in the face of disruption. They shape how people collaborate, lead, disagree and solve problems, laying the foundation for building trust, social cohesion and inclusion. By equipping workers with adaptable mindsets and lifelong learning habits, they underpin career mobility, resilience to change and sustainable purpose throughout their working lives. Labour-market shifts make these skills more valuable than ever. Demographic change is expanding roles that rely heavily on human expertise, such as nursing professionals, social workers and teachers, where empathy, communication and resilience are indispensable – especially in economies where the working population is growing. Countries will only remain competitive if they train and nurture talent with the critical skills needed to drive innovation. Meanwhile, geoeconomic fragmentation and economic uncertainty are heightening the need for resilience and leadership. Even in technology-driven fields, creativity, problem solving and emotional intelligence are critical to ensure that innovation translates into real economic and social value. The accelerating development of generative AI and related technologies magnifies this urgency. Technological investments alone will not deliver productivity gains or economic returns. Machines can process, predict and optimize, but they cannot empathize, inspire or build trust. Human-centric skills are the bridge between technological progress and meaningful organizational and societal outcomes. As automation continues to reduce routine work, the premium on human skills will grow, empowering individuals to thrive alongside machines, unlock organizational agility and help economies adapt amid economic and social disruptions. Yet education systems and organizations worldwide struggle to assess, develop and credential these vital capabilities, leaving their value under- recognized and under-used. A lack of standardized frameworks, scalable assessment tools and clear pathways for recognition continues to limit their visibility and value. This paper responds to those gaps by examining the supply and demand of human-centric skills and providing guidance for businesses, educators and policy-makers on how to develop, assess and credential them effectively.Human skills are becoming vital for innovation, leadership and adaptability, yet remain difficult to measure and develop. New Economy Skills: Unlocking the Human Advantage 5