As time goes by and technology evolves, the job market changes rapidly to face the new economic and societal needs that emerge, so the skills and careers most demanded at…
As time goes by and technology evolves, the job market changes rapidly to face the new economic and societal needs that emerge, so the skills and careers most demanded at a time respond to the market’s needs. As you must already know, all the skills, abilities, attitudes, and aptitudes that a candidate or worker of a company has, are the labor competencies, and naturally, these are changing over the years and the demands of the context, if a company changes, the competencies of those who make it up, will also change.
While some professions lose popularity, others gain acceptance and recognition, this is the normal rhythm of the work landscape, yet, the fundamental thing is: regardless of the area of work, having certain professional skills can make a difference in the success of both the worker and the company. Knowing what qualities are most in demand can help build a successful career and reach one of those jobs in demand.
Related: Digital marketing trends for 2023
Fastest-Growing Jobs
Nowadays, it is essential to always be at the forefront of the professional world, to know which careers are growing fast, and how to improve professional skills based on this information. Thanks to technology and the Internet, digital jobs are constantly growing, and still, positions related to business development, logistics, expansion, and sales are estimated to keep growing even more over the following years.
This information was confirmed by the Jobs on the Rise list, made by LinkedIn News, which included the most in-demand jobs positions that have grown in the last five years, and that will continue to grow steadily:
- Sales Specialist
- Account executive
- Cybersecurity Analyst
- Growth Manager
- Sustainability consultant
- Business development manager
- Logistics expert
- Customer Relationship Manager
- Site reliability engineer
- Artificial intelligence engineer
- Solutions Engineer
- Cloud systems engineer
- Data Engineer
- Investment banking analyst
- Clinical trials manager
- Supply chain expert
- Cybersecurity engineer
- Software engineering consultant
- Engineering manager
- Back-end developer
- User experience researcher
- DevOps Engineer
- Delivery Manager
- Platform Engineer
- Social Media Marketing Manager
Marina Valero, editor of LinkedIn News in Spain, while analyzing the current state of the word landscape and those jobs in demand, explains that “…the employment landscape evolves every day, and requires agile profiles that can adapt to the changing needs and uncertain situations we live in (…) we can see how jobs related to cybersecurity, sales, logistics, finance, and sustainability are the ones with the most career opportunities. Therefore, workers need to focus on acquiring new knowledge and skills related to these positions: only then will they be able to boost their careers and reach their goals.”
So, what are the most valuable professional skills in the workforce for 2023? Certainly, the rise of remote work has completely changed what we understood about the world of work, and with this, it also changed what we should expect from the workforce. A technological world requires some tech skills to perform a job in this area, thus professionals must not only be good at what they do, but companies also are considering if they have good communication skills, a set of values that are compatible with the company’s culture, and manage their time well, for example.
Related:Emerging labor market trends for 2023
Tech Skills
Technology skills are a highly prized resource among employees, and it’s not limited to the technology sector, professionals don’t just have to work in technology to capitalize on this skill set, tech-savvy workers are in demand in most sectors: Medical, healthcare, finance, etc. Having good technology skills can lead to a better job with great benefits.
According to HRForecast and the work platform Upwork, the technical skills that will be most in demand in 2023 and beyond are as follows:
- Basic programming skills.
- UI/UX design.
- Data engineering.
- Data visualization.
- Full-stack developer.
- Front-end and back-end development.
- Mobile app development.
- CMS developer.
- Manual testing.
Soft Skills
In times of so much professional competition, soft skills are gaining more relevance since they are the ones that enable people to move in their environment, adapt, work well with the team, and meet objectives, combined with technical skills. Soft skills are still a priority in the workforce.
According to McKinsey & Co, the soft skills that are important in a changing labor market by 2023 and beyond include:
- Critical thinking skills
- Communication skills
- Mental flexibility
- Teamwork ability
- Self-leadership
- Digital fluency
Related: How to be the leader everyone wants to work with
Looking forward to 2026
We have discussed the Most Valuable Competencies for 2023, but what about further down the road? Can we predict if these skills will be relevant in 2026?
According to a study by Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, it is possible to know what skills will be relevant in the job market in 2026. Pearson analyzed 21 million job advertisements worldwide and gathered which skills appear most frequently and which might be the most in-demand jobs that year.
Pearson’s predictive AI modeling tool concluded that these will be the most valuable skills in 2026:
- Collaboration
- Customer orientation
- Personal learning
- Achievement orientation
- Cultural and social intelligence
This Pearson study tells us that while technical skills remain crucial, employers currently value more and more human skills such as collaboration, communication, and leadership.
As Mike Howells, President of Pearson Workforce Skills, points out, “Technical skills are still necessary for success in many jobs, but the people in those roles will need to retrain frequently to ensure they keep pace with technology. Now, employers are realizing that human skills are what help people stay relevant and adaptable over the long term. Companies must act now to help their employees improve their competencies, as a strong foundation of human competencies is essential to the success of employers and employees, both today and in the future.”