Top 15 Skills Most Valued by Companies for 2025

What are the skills most valued by companies for 2025? Society is changing and the needs of companies are also evolving. Consequently, the skills that companies seek to find in the workers of the future, those called to lead the digital transformation or to succeed in the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, also evolve.

We present the 15 skills most valued by companies for 2025 according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). These include groups such as critical thinking and analysis and resolution of problems, which have remained at the top of the list with annual consistency. But this year, self-management skills like active learning, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility are on the list.

Additionally, the data available through metric partnerships with LinkedIn and Coursera has enabled this edition of the report to track with unprecedented granularity the types of specialized skills needed for the jobs of tomorrow. Thus, the “transversal” skills demanded in multiple emerging professions are those specialized in product marketing, digital marketing and human-computer interaction.

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According to the report the Future of Employment carried out by the WEF, the TOP 15 of these skills according to the responses of the main managers of human resources and strategy of the large world companies are:

TOP 15 Skills Most Valued by Companies by 2025

1. Analytical thinking and innovation

It is a way of thinking that allows you to distinguish and separate the parts of a whole until you get to know its principles or elements. Analytical thinking is the thinking of detail and difference that in these times has to be combined with an innovative approach to approach the analysis.

It is a way of thinking that allows you to distinguish and separate the parts of a whole until you get to know its principles or elements. Analytical thinking is the thinking of detail and difference that in these times has to be combined with an innovative approach to approach the analysis

2. Active learning and learning strategies

People (student) participate in the learning process through the development of knowledge and understanding. It requires reflection and practice using new knowledge and skills to develop long-term memories and a deeper understanding.

3. Solving complex problems

The ability to solve new and ill-defined problems for which there are no precedents in complex and real environments.

4. Critical thinking and analysis

Use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative situations, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

5. Creativity, originality and initiative

The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a certain topic or situation or to develop creative ways of solving problems.

6. Leadership and social influence

The ability to impact others.

7. Use, monitoring and control of technology

Management of technological environments (technological capabilities).

8. Technology design and programming

Related to the previous skill. Know the world of algorithms.

9. Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility

Learn emotional management with oneself and with others; the ability to cope with stressful environments and adapt to change. 10. Reasoning, problem solving and ideation.

11. Emotional intelligence

Be aware of the reactions of others, with the ability to put yourself in the place of the other.

12. Troubleshooting and user experience

Put the user at the center and be able to create and offer a consistent and good experience (of my product or service).

13. Service orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

14. Analysis and evaluation of systems

15. Persuasion and negotiation

Bringing each other together and trying to reconcile differences.

Changes in skills

Beyond the ranking, the most striking thing is also how those most demanded skills vary. The first thing is that this latest report expands from 10 to 15 the list of skills with respect to the TOP of 2015 and new skills appear such as analytical thinking and innovation, active learning and learning strategies that are in first positions ahead of classics such as problem solving and critical thinking. Creativity maintains its good position among the top five positions, followed by others that enter new, such as leadership and social influence; use, monitoring and control of technology, design and programming of technology and resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility.

Those harmed by this rise are emotional intelligence (it drops from 6 to 11), service orientation (it decreases its position from 8 to 13) or negotiation capacity (it drops from 9 to 15).

Others such as coordination with others disappear from the list. For the WEF, “this year we found that while technology-driven job creation is expected to outpace job destruction over the next five years, the downturn in the economy is slowing the growth rate of tomorrow’s jobs.

“There is a renewed urgency to take proactive steps to ease the transition of workers to more sustainable job opportunities. Additionally, automation coupled with the COVID-19 recession is creating a double disruption scenario for workers.”

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According to the report’s survey, companies estimate on average that around 40% of workers will require retraining of six months or less and 94% of business leaders report that they expect employees to acquire new skills on the job compared to 65 % who thought so in the 2018 edition.

Some jobs will disappear, others will grow, and jobs that don’t even exist today will become mainstream. What is certain is that the workforce of the future will need to align its skill set to keep up.”