Job Market Requirements 2030: Human Skills Ahead of AI Skills

Human skills such as creativity, critical thinking, and empathy are not losing value in the job market; on the contrary, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), they are expected to rank first by 2030 – even ahead of AI competencies. This is according to a recent white paper, part of the WEF's "New Economy Skills" series. It highlights five core competencies identified by the WEF for 2030 that should be prioritized by companies and economies for the training and further education of their skilled workers.

Non-automatable Competencies

AI, data, and digital competencies rank second among the five core competencies for 2030. Environmental and sustainability competencies follow in third place, professional and vocational competencies in fourth, and business competencies in fifth.

Human competencies include, among others, creative and problem-solving abilities such as critical, analytical, systemic, and mathematical thinking to tackle complex challenges and develop new ideas. Motivation and self-awareness, lifelong learning, coaching, curiosity, attention to detail, resilience, flexibility and agility, as well as emotional intelligence are also counted among them. According to the report, they enable people to manage themselves, further their education, shape interpersonal relationships, and maintain their well-being. Furthermore, it is predicted that competencies such as empathy, resilience, leadership skills, and teaching ability, as well as higher cognitive skills like analytical and creative thinking and curiosity, have "only a 13 percent potential for AI transformation, as they rely on human – not machine – judgment, context, and life experience."

In contrast, mathematical and statistical thinking, systems thinking, speaking, writing and languages, as well as reliability and attention to detail, have an almost six times higher probability of undergoing a hybrid or complete transformation. Here, generative AI can take over a large part of routine work. However, human supervision will remain essential. Overall, only a few skills have the potential for complete transformation, where AI can handle entire tasks with minimal human interaction. Human-centric competencies thus remain "the bridge between technological progress and meaningful organizational and societal outcomes."

Not Trained from Birth or Constant

The report also points out that the human competencies required for the job market are neither sufficiently developed from birth nor present independently of external conditions. On the one hand, it is emphasized that human competencies such as collaboration, critical thinking, adaptability, curiosity, and emotional intelligence have been insufficiently promoted in educational systems so far. On the other hand, human-centric skills are described as "invisible" and "fragile." Invisible because they are often taken for granted and thus their manifestations are not measured or valued like other skills. Fragile because, for example, economic downturns, crises, and social upheavals burden people, thereby negatively affecting their well-developed abilities. Accordingly, human competencies must be recognized as valuable and an additional educational goal with meaningful qualifications for future economic and societal success, and people should experience stability and security as much as possible to be able to access them.

The extent to which competencies are developed globally varies culturally, and gender roles in respective cultures also play a role. This was shown, for example, by the PISA study of 2022. Only half of the students in OECD countries were able to develop original ideas in familiar contexts, and in over 20 countries, they mostly did not reach a basic level of creative competence. Furthermore, the survey showed that students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds consistently performed better, and girls performed better than boys.

According to the report, companies already have a demand for good human competencies in their workforce, while the supply cannot keep up. This is evident, for example, from the WEF's "Executive Opinion Survey 2025," which shows that only one in two employers assesses their employees as competent in collaboration and creativity, and even fewer in resilience, curiosity, and lifelong learning. This suggests that while teamwork and collaboration represent relative strengths, the mindsets and habits that foster continuous growth and self-directed learning remain weaknesses worldwide. However, not all employees are inactive in this regard. According to data from the further education provider Coursera, there has been a steady increase in learning hours for human-centric competencies from 2020 to 2025. Since 2022, strong growth has been observed in analytical and systemic thinking, and since 2024, also for learning units on creative thinking, resilience, empathy, curiosity, and lifelong learning.

(kbe)