New Economy Skills Unlocking the Human Advantage 2025

Share (%) of employers that consider human-centric skills to be core in 2025 and expect increased use by 2030FIGURE 3 Share of employers considering a skill as core in 2025 (%)Emerging skills Less essential now, but expected to increase in useCore skills in 2030 Core now and expected to increase in importance Steady skills Core now, but not expected to increase in useOut of focus skills Less essential now, and not expected to increase in useShare of employers expecting increased use of skills by 2030 (%)100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70Resilience, flexibility and agility Analytical thinking Leadership and social influenceCreative thinkingTechnological literacyNetworks and security Environmental stewardship Programming Marketing and media Global citizenship Sensory-processing abilities Manual dexterity, endurance and precisionReading, writing and mathematics Multi-lingualismTeaching and mentoring Resource management and operationsServices orientation and customer serviceEmpathy and active listening 80Design and user experience Motivation and self-awareness Dependability and attention to detailQuality controlTalent management Systems thinkingAI and big data Curiosity and lifelong learning Notes: Share of employers that consider human-centric skills to be core in 2025 and to increase in use by 2030. Source: World Economic Forum. Generative AI and the enduring nature of human-centric skills BOX 1 The rapid advancement of generative AI (genAI) has raised questions about how far these technologies can substitute for existing skill sets and reshape how tasks are performed. Research conducted by Indeed underscores the enduring importance of human-centric skills in an increasingly digitalized world. Figure 4 shows the potential for genAI to transform human-centric skills, drawing on Indeed Hiring Lab’s GenAI Skill Transformation Index. The index scores skills across two dimensions: cognitive abilities and physical requirements. Using the World Economic Forum’s Global Skills Taxonomy, the analysis classifies nearly 2,900 granular work skills into four categories of transformation potential under genAI: minimal transformation, assisted transformation, hybrid transformation and full transformation.10 Skills rooted in human interaction and experience, such as empathy, resilience, leadership and teaching, alongside higher order cognitive abilities like analytical and creative thinking and curiosity and lifelong learning are expected to undergo minimal transformation. Just 12.7% of granular tasks linked to these skills show potential for hybrid transformation; thus, human performance will remain largely unchanged, as they depend on interpersonal dynamics, contextual judgement and lived experience AI cannot easily replicate. By contrast, mathematical and statistical reasoning, systems thinking, speaking, writing and languages, and dependability and attention to detail are nearly six times more likely to undergo hybrid or full transformation. Here, genAI can take on much of the routine work, but human oversight remains essential. Overall, there are few skills with potential for full transformation, where genAI can handle entire tasks with minimal human interaction: basic mathematics, editing and writing exercises and hypothesis testing. These findings highlight the enduring nature of human-centric skills. Many technical or routine skills may need constant updating as AI capabilities evolve, yet human-centric skills retain their relevance precisely because they are harder to automate. Even in areas where genAI is essential, human oversight remains indispensable. Rather than replaced, human-centric skills will become even more valuable as complements to digital technologies. New Economy Skills: Unlocking the Human Advantage 9