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Unfortunately for HR practitioners, no one can predict the future. If someone could, it would be easy to make decisions on aspects of your people management that you know are guaranteed to drive performance and results in the long term.
In people management, one of the most important things you can give your employees is new skills. This may come about through L&D programmes, or putting your staff on pathways of development and trusting them with more responsibility.
Whatever way you decide to develop your workforce, having an awareness and understanding of the skills that are going to be useful in the future is necessary. This isn’t only because equipping your staff with the right skills leads to higher retention rates, but also because it puts your firm at a competitive edge against other businesses.
Whether these changes occur due to technological developments, likely shifts in workplace flexibility (such as with the 4-day-week), or distinct changes in attitudes towards work (Gen Z will soon make up the majority of the workforce) - the reality is that all these factors will play into what skills are most important in the future of work.
But with so much noise around ‘future skills’, how can you have the strongest workforce? And what skills are realistically set to take centre stage in the future?
AI-related
Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence-related skills will be highly sought after in the future due to the rapid advancement and integration of AI technologies across various industries. AI's ability to enhance efficiency, drive innovation, and provide competitive advantages makes expertise in AI development, machine learning, and data analysis crucial.
As businesses increasingly rely on AI for automation, decision-making, and personalised services, professionals with AI skills will be essential for designing, implementing, and managing these systems. Additionally, the demand for ethical AI use and addressing AI-related challenges, such as bias and security, will further drive the need for skilled AI professionals.
All the research out now points to the skills of the future focusing on human skills or ‘softer skills’. Things like curiosity, learning agility, and adaptability will be important skills in the future, because they are things that a machine or AI can’t do, and they are what makes us innately human
Peter Morris, Director of Core HR and Payroll Technology at IBM, employers need to stay ahead of the curve in AI adoption and education. He says: “There has been a real transformation in terms of career opportunities in our payroll teams. From an organisation’s perspective, I would say the AI genie is out of the bottle. It’s essential you have a strategy around this and it’s also essential you train employees in the use of AI.
