The world of work is changing. In the future, there will be a demand for different types of skills than there are now. Here is a list of 11 skills that employers around the world say they’ll need most in 2022 and beyond. If you have any of these skills today, you may want to brush up on them or take some courses so that you can update your resume with this information before job hunting.
If you don't have one or more of these skill sets yet, it's time to start learning! There are resources online and offline where you can get started with many different types of classes and certifications for free or at a low cost. You'll find links below to help get started learning anything from how to code to foreign languages.
1. Programming Languages
A programming language is a formal computer language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages are defined using syntactic and semantic rules, to determine structure and meaning respectively.
There are hundreds of different programming languages in use today for web development – some popular ones include Python, C++, Java, JavaScript, PHP and Ruby.
Learning how to program takes time but it can pay off if you're prepared to dedicate enough of your time to the task. The key is that there are jobs out there for people who know how to code – if you want a job in the technology sector , learning this skill might be a good place to start.
2. AI Programming
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have already begun to transform the business world. Companies are realizing that AI is something they need to implement in order to stay competitive, so there's high demand for employees who can understand programming languages and know how to create real-life applications of these skills.
Skills required: JavaScript, Python, C++, Java
3. Cloud Computing
This is a form of computing in which data is stored on remote servers that are linked to the user via the internet. It involves storing, managing and processing data, including software applications and platforms, on clusters of remote servers rather than local hard drives – meaning web apps can run faster because there's less distance for information to travel.
Skills required: JAVA, Python, JavaScript
4. Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things is a network of internet-connected devices that can collect and exchange data using embedded systems – this includes everything from smartphones to vehicles and home appliances. It has the potential to improve many aspects of our lives including healthcare and transportation by making everyday objects intelligent and interconnected.
Skills required: Python, JavaScript. JAVA
5. Data Science and Analysis
Data science is a vast field of study that uses statistical analysis to extract useful meaning from large volumes of data in various forms including tabular, spatial, textual or network data. The results are then applied to real-life scenarios for various purposes including strategic planning, business reporting, predictive analytics and more.
Skills required: Python, SQL, Hadoop
6. Mobile App Development
Mobile App development is a popular career choice right now. The world has gone mobile and the expectations of people around the world have changed as a result. They want to do everything from checking email to socializing through their smartphones – so it's important that businesses have websites and apps that are easy for customers to use on their mobiles.
Skills required: Objective C, Swift, Java
7. Front-End (UI/UX) Development And Design
User interface design is the process of ensuring that user interfaces are intuitive, usable and accessible. It's all about how customers interact with products – so it's important to consider both their needs and abilities when designing a product. User experience designers on the other hand are concerned more exclusively with the feel of an app/website rather than its function – this includes the hierarchy and flow of information, color schemes and overall aesthetics.
Skills required: HTML5/CSS3, JavaScript, User experience design
8. Video And Audio Production
With the ever-increasing popularity of social media, video and audio production skills are in huge demand right now. Video content is a great way to get your message across to a mass audience, so it's no surprise that brands have been investing more time and money on these projects recently.
Skills required: Video editing, photography, graphic design, copywriting
9. Blockchain
Blockchain is a technology that provides secure peer-to-peer transactions without the need for a central governing body. It's been around since 2009 but it's only recently started to attract attention from business people and governments around the world because of its potential to transform finance, logistics and security. This makes it a popular skill set to have these days.
10. Creativity and Innovation
Creativity and innovation are skills that every company values highly. They're not easy to teach or learn, but they can be developed through training and practice. Most people associate creativity with the arts (painting, music etc) but it's actually applicable to lots of different areas like technology and business as well.
11. Sales Leadership And Persuasion
Every company needs somebody who can sell their product/service to prospective customers. This is why sales leadership and persuasion are in high demand – they are highly transferable skills that can be applied on a local or global scale.
Skills required: Sales, communication, negotiation
Bonus Skill
12. Languages
More employees are needed at businesses around the world who can speak languages other than their own. The reason for this is simple – by opening up a business to customers from another country or region, you're instantly expanding your market and attracting a completely new customer base. It's even been proven that multilingual people tend to be more intelligent too!
Skills required: Language translation, language teaching
Which skill is best for the future?
The truth is that nobody knows which skill will be best for the future. It's likely to change as technology develops and business requirements change too, so it can't hurt to have a combination of these skills under your belt – particularly if you want to keep ahead of the curve.
However, even though these are pretty much the most common skills you'll need to learn right now, they're also based on my own personal opinion. It's always worth doing your research and speaking to professionals in the industry before you start learning a new skill – particularly when it comes to something as important as this.
A good bet is to learn at least general programming skills that you can apply to any of the programming languages you might need for a certain career. This is all about understanding the principles behind arrays, functions or objects. If you understand how these are used to create output that you want, applying them to a certain programming language is easy.
Learning one or two programming languages is always a good thing and many jobs will require coding skills in the future. If you want to set yourself up for the future, I personally would invest in getting good at AI programming and machine learning. AI will dominate the future and many of today's jobs are going to get obsolete in the near future.
Which skills are in demand in 2022?
We began the article with a list of 11 valuable skills that secure your career in the future. But what about the present?
Today, in 2022 companies need a mix of soft and hard skills. For instance, being able to work well with others is an important skill. Combined with critical thinking skills, it can be very powerful for productivity.
Creativity also has large value in the workplace today. It allows us to solve problems that have not been solved before and achieve things that were never achieved before. With creativity skills, you are more likely to find new work opportunities outside of your comfort zone.
Employers frequently mention that they need employees that are good at stress management. This is another valuable soft skill that can be developed through self-help or specific courses.
Understanding the behavioral aspects of employees is also very important for many companies because it allows managers to better plan work assignments and develop team dynamics. This results in achieving more with less effort, which employers are always thankful for.
Data science is the number one skill employers are looking for right now. Data is the new oil, I am sure you heard that saying before. There is just so much valuable information in data that we need people who know how to extract it and put it into practice. The skills needed for this job include programming, statistical analysis and visualization.
Data science also includes big data management, which many companies require today due to the amount of data they store every day. This means more work for engineers, so these skills are quickly becoming more and more valuable.
Another important skill includes Data and IT Security. This field is still growing by 30% each year. As the amount of information stored in computers grows, so does the demand for people with security skills.
Since the pandemic hit us, almost all companies support working from home. Remote Communication and Collaboration are essential these days and will continue to be. Companies need employees that can work in a team without being physically in the same room together. This skill allows companies to achieve more and save money by not having to rent expensive office space.
The future for many industries depends on high-tech equipment like robots, drones and artificial intelligence (AI). Companies who want to stay relevant will require employees who can make these machines work. Today, there are not many of these people around and the demand is growing exponentially. Since it takes years to learn these skills properly, you should try to start now.
What are the essential soft skills for success?
The top 5 soft skills to learn include:
1. Creativity and Innovation
The ability to think outside the box and come up with unique insights and ideas is a powerful skill for success. Employees that can prove they have this skill are more likely to be promoted.
2. Sales and Persuasion
This is probably the most common soft skill. Sales and persuasion enable employees to convince their peers, customers or even bosses of an idea. This results in achieving more than what was initially expected.
3. Emotional Intelligence
This skill is about managing your own emotions and the emotions of others. It enables you to work better with others, which results in more productive teams.
4. Teamwork and Collaboration
This skill is all about working well with others, which is why it ranks high among companies. This skill allows employees to achieve more together than they could have individually.
5. Adaptability and Flexibility
Employees with this skill are more likely to have a career that changes directions frequently. They are able to adapt to their environment quickly, which is why they are in demand during times of change.
What are high-demand jobs?
The pandemic changed our business world. And it created a different demand for certain professions, jobs and skills. Here are the top 7 in-demand careers for the next 10 years:
- Nurse Practitioner: This job is very popular in the U.S., but it's growing across the world due to the pandemic and its implications for healthcare systems. Nurse practitioners develop treatment plans, write prescriptions, diagnose medical conditions and perform advanced physical assessments. This career comes with a growth rate of a whopping 52% for the next decade.
- Physical Therapist: Also known as a physiotherapist, this is another high-demand job. Physical therapists help people with injuries and disabilities get back to normal life by providing treatments and exercise plans. This career has a growth rate of 38% for the next decade.
- Physician Assistant: Physicians assistants complete medical histories and examinations, make diagnoses and prescribe treatment plans. They typically work with one or more doctors. This career has a growth rate of 33% for the next decade.
- Data and Information Security Analyst: These professionals deal with cyber security issues. They secure computer systems, networks and data from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Their goal is to make sure that transactions are safe, customers' information is protected and the company meets regulatory requirements. This career has a growth rate of 31% for the next decade.
- Statistician: The importance of data on decision-making is growing exponentially. This means more demand for statisticians who can make sense of the data and provide valuable insights. Statisticians are mathematical professionals who collect, analyze and interpret data to help governments, businesses and organizations make better decisions. This career has a growth rate of 31% for the next decade.
- Vaccine Specialist: Their main responsibility is to develop vaccines. Vaccine specialists work in different areas, including research labs, production labs, consulting firms or government agencies. This career has a growth rate of 29% for the next decade.
- Customer Marketing Manager: These professionals deal with understanding customers and their behaviors. This, in turn, enables companies to develop products that customers want or improve existing ones. Customer marketing managers work in different sectors, such as finance, health and wellness and retail. This career has a growth rate of 25% for the next decade.
How do I choose a career?
Choosing the right career is an important task. And you should take your time. You may have heard the saying: ” Do what you love and you'll never need to work a single day in your life.” And this is so true. So, when choosing a career you need to find something that fulfills you. It's more about your life than it is about the money.
So what should you do?
Now that we know which jobs are in demand, let's talk about how you can get started with learning and where you can learn new skills. The first thing you can do is to think about what you are good at. The second thing you can do is to research the trending skills for the next 10 years. If you have identified a skill that's in demand, then learn more about it by reading blog articles or watching videos on YouTube.
Ask yourself some of the following questions to get the process going:
What do I like to do?
What am I good at?
What kind of people would I enjoy working with every day?
At which type of company or organization would I thrive?
Which type of industry would I enjoy working in?
What are the most important things I want out of my work life?
How does this new skill align with my career path already?
Also, think about which companies you'd like to work for. And make sure they are hiring for the skills that you can offer them. Then, research the company online. Read their social media posts and find out how you can get in touch with them to find out more about their hiring process and what they expect from employees like you. Also, get in touch with people that work at the companies and ask them what it's like to work there or if they know of any open positions that may be available.
Finally, it's time to show off your talent! Use the skills you've learned by working on side projects or building college projects. You can also use them for any work you do in your free time. And if you haven't already, brush up on how to write a resume and cover letter because these are essential tools for anyone looking for a job.
In conclusion, as technology advances so must the skills needed to be successful in life and at work. So now it's up to you to figure out what those are and learn them. And once you do, put them to good use by finding a job that will allow you to keep growing as a professional.
How to get started with learning?
There are many ways that you can learn anything if you put your mind to it. You can take classes, read books or even use free online services like YouTube for tutorials. There is no excuse not to learn something new today.
If you are looking to become a coder, then Codecademy is one of the best ways that you can learn to code for free. And this website has courses on different programming languages.
If you are looking for information on any given topic, then Wikipedia is always a great place to start. To get you started, here's how I learned what a data analyst does.
Learning websites like Coursera and Udemy are awesome libraries of courses. And these two websites offer courses for free with paid options to get verified certificates of completion.
Online communities like Reddit are great resources for learning new skills. For example, you can ask questions about anything that is on your mind and get answers from people who know more than you do. Plus, you can also help others with their questions or problems.
Finally, you can use social media like Twitter to learn new information about companies and job opportunities.
There are so many ways that you can learn anything if you put your mind to it. And once you do, go ahead and use that knowledge to find a job that suits your personality and preferences at the same time.
Final Thoughts
The skills required for a business to succeed in the next 20 years are constantly evolving and changing. But what you can always count on is the importance of hard work, determination and commitment. Attempting to learn new skills can be challenging but it's definitely worth it in the end.
And once you get a job, don't stop learning. In fact, always be learning because it's the best way to become successful in anything that you do in life. Whether you are looking for a new gig or not, keep improving yourself by learning something new every day.
After all, no one wants to hire an uneducated person. And lastly, never stop working to improve yourself because your career path is your own. No one else will care about it as much as you do.
I hope this article has given you some ideas to start with. But if not, don't give up. Keep looking for new opportunities and you will succeed in the end.
Good luck!
