https://www.weforum.

org/reports/the-
future-of-jobs
http://www.businessinsider.com/social-
skills-becoming-more-important-as-
robots-enter-workforce-2015-12
The 10 skills you need to thrive in the
Fourth Industrial Revolution
Five years from now, over one-third of skills (35%) that are considered important in
today’s workforce will have changed.

By 2020, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will have brought us advanced robotics and
autonomous transport, artificial intelligence and machine learning, advanced materials,
biotechnology and genomics.

These developments will transform the way we live, and the way we work. Some jobs
will disappear, others will grow and jobs that don’t even exist today will become
commonplace. What is certain is that the future workforce will need to align its skillset
to keep pace.

A new Forum report, The Future of Jobs, looks at the employment, skills and workforce
strategy for the future.

The report asked chief human resources and strategy officers from leading global
employers what the current shifts mean, specifically for employment, skills and
recruitment across industries and geographies.

What skills will change most?

Creativity will become one of the top three skills workers will need. With the avalanche
of new products, new technologies and new ways of working, workers are going to have
to become more creative in order to benefit from these changes.

Robots may help us get to where we want to be faster, but they can’t be as creative as
humans (yet).

Whereas negotiation and flexibility are high on the list of skills for 2015, in 2020 they
will begin to drop from the top 10 as machines, using masses of data, begin to make our
decisions for us.
A survey done by the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future
of Software and Society shows people expect artificial intelligence machines to be part
of a company’s board of directors by 2026.

Similarly, active listening, considered a core skill today, will disappear completely from
the top 10. Emotional intelligence, which doesn’t feature in the top 10 today, will
become one of the top skills needed by all.

Disruption in industry

The nature of the change will depend very much on the industry itself. Global media
and entertainment, for example, has already seen a great deal of change in the past five
years.

The financial services and investment sector, however, has yet to be radically
transformed. Those working in sales and manufacturing will need new skills, such as
technological literacy.

Some advances are ahead of others. Mobile internet and cloud technology are already
impacting the way we work. Artificial intelligence, 3D printing and advanced materials
are still in their early stages of use, but the pace of change will be fast.

Change won’t wait for us: business leaders, educators and governments all need to be
proactive in up-skilling and retraining people so everyone can benefit from the Fourth
Industrial Revolution.

The Annual Meeting is taking place in Davos from 20 to 23 January, under the theme
“Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.
The top 10 skills that will be in demand
by all employers by 2020
In fewer than four years, employers will seek employees with very different skill sets
than they do today.

In fact, on average more than one third of the desired skill sets of most occupations will
be comprised of skills that are not yet considered important to the job today, according
to a recent report from the World Economic Forum.

The report, called “The Future of Jobs,” surveyed executives from more than 350
employers across nine industries in 15 of the world’s largest economies to come up with
predictions about how technological advancements will force the labor markets to
evolve.

Here’s a look at the top 10 skill sets respondents said will be most in demand by 2020.

10. Cognitive flexibility will continue to be an important skill.

Cognitive flexibility is the ability of being able to think about multiple concepts
simultaneously.

It wasn't even a skill in demand in 2015, but will become more important during the
next four years.

According to the report, respondents said that a wide range of jobs will require a higher
level of cognitive abilities—which include creativity, logical reasoning, and problem
sensitivity—as part of the core skill set.

9. Negotiation skills will still be in demand.

In general, social skills are going to become ever more important in the workforce. This
makes sense because social skills are still something that, at least for the time being, are
uniquely human.

By 2020, negotiation skills will particularly be in high demand in computer and

mathematical jobs, such as data analysts and software developers, according to the
report.

It will also be key skill in the arts and design job category, which includes commercial
and industrial designers.

8. Service orientation skills will be important.

Service orientation is defined in the report as actively looking for ways to help others
and it also falls under the social skills umbrella.
According to recent research paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research,
strong social skills will continue to become more important as robots and automation
take more jobs.

"The reason is that computers are still very poor at simulating human interaction.
Reading the minds of others and reacting is an unconscious process, and skill in social
settings has evolved in humans over thousands of years. Human interaction in the
workplace involves team production, with workers playing off of each other’s strengths
and adapting flexibly to changing circumstances. Such nonroutine interaction is at the
heart of the human advantage over machines," the paper states.

7. Judgment and decision making will become a highly desired skill.

Judgment and decision making was ranked as the 8th most in demand skill in 2015, but
it will move up to the 7th spot by 2020.

This particular skill set is considered a "system skill," which is the ability to analyze
data to be able to make decisions.

As organization increasingly collect more data, there will be a greater need for
employees who have the ability to analyze data and use it to make decisions.

6. Emotional intelligence is another social skill that will be in

demand.

Robots may be able to do a lot of jobs, but they still can't read people the way other
humans can, at least not yet.

That is why it will become more important for employees to have a higher level of
emotional intelligence. The ability to be able to be able to be aware of others' reactions
and to understand why they react certain ways will become a necessary skill for workers
by 2020.

5. Coordinating with others is another thing robots haven't perfected

yet.
Again, this one also falls under the social skill umbrella and entails the ability of being
able to adjust actions in relation to others and to collaborate.

4. People management is an ability that will be sought after.

People management entails being able to motivate people, develop employees, and
identify the best people for the job.

The report notes that this skill set will be especially in demand for managers in the
energy and media industries.
3. Creativity will become a huge quality employers look for.

Creativity will move from the 10th spot in 2015 to the top three skills employers are
seeking in 2020.

With the onslaught of new technologies, creative people will be in demand to figure out
ways to apply the new technology and create new products and services.

2. Critical thinking is a basic skill that will remain in high demand.

Being able to use logic and reasoning to identify strengths and weaknesses of different
solutions and approaches is a skill that will still be needed even though automation is
becoming more prevalent.

1. Complex problem solving continues to be the top skill employers

will seek.

Even with the increase in data to help make decisions, people will still need the basic
skill of being able to solve complex problems.

Respondents to the survey ranked this skill as the most in demand in 2015 and it will
remain the number one most desired skill in 2020.

In fact, 36% of all jobs across all industries are expected to require complex problem-
solving abilities as a core skill by 2020, according to the report.