WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: 10 SKILLS AREAS OF THE FUTURE
As presented in the Global Skills Index 2021 by Coursera
Cloud Computing
Delivering innovative computing services
Content Production
Driving brand through creative visual or written assists
Data & Al
Driving strategy with insights
Engineering
Developing software solutions
Green Economy
Building a sustainable future
Marketing
Building brand and acquiring
People & Culture
Creative positive work environments
Sales
Finding customers and solutions for their challenges
Care Economy
Supporting the well-being of our communities
CLOUD COMPUTING
Delivering innovative
computing services
WHAT IT IS:
The delivery of computing services – including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence – over the internet.
WHY IT MATTERS:
With public cloud service spending projected to reach $370 billion in 2022, demand for cloud computing skills will only continue to accelerate. Nearly three- quarters of IT decision-makers (71%) believe their organizations have lost revenues due to a lack of cloud expertise, and the lack of cloud profession costs business up to $ 250 million per year.
ENTRY-LEVEL TARGET JOB:
Computer Support Specialist (51 hours)
TOP JOBS:
- Site Reliability Engineer
- Platform Engineer
- Cloud Engineer
- DevOps Engineer
- Cloud Consultant
TOP FIELD OF STUDY:
- Computer Science
- Engineering
- Business
- Mathematics and Statistics
- Arts and Humanities
KEY LEARNING AREAS FOR ENTRY- LEVEL CLOUD COMPUTING ROLES:
- Cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud
- Operating systems and computer networking concepts
- Databases and cloud storage
- Data security
- DevOps and technologies like Kubernetes
CONTENT PRODUCTION Driving brand through creative
visual or written assets
WHAT IT IS:
The process of developing and creating visual or written assets, such as videos, eBooks, blog posts, whitepapers, infographics.
WHY IT MATTERS:
Content marketing market is expected to grow by $269 billion during 2020-2024, ¹⁶° driven by growth in time spend on social media. Roughly one-third of all on the internet is spent on social media. ¹⁶¹
ENTRY- LEVEL TARGET JOB:
PR/Communications Specialist (54 hours)
TOP JOBS:
- Social Media Coordinator
- Content Specialist
- Content Producer
- Writer
- Creative Copywriter
TOP FIELDS OF STUDY:
- Arts and Humanities
- Business
- Social Sciences
- Computer Science
- Engineering
KEY LEARNING AREAS FOR ENTRY-LEVEL CONTENT PRODUCTION ROLES:
- Effective writing and communication
- Project management
- Content marketing strategies
- Copywriting and the editorial process
- Gain influence and share content in social networks
DATA & AI
Driving strategy with insights
WHAT IT IS:
Developing code and quantitative algorithms to organize and synthesize large amounts of information used to answer questions and drive strategy in organization.
WHY IT MATTERS:
Data & AI jobs have been among the fastest growing, at 40+% annualized growth over the past five years. ¹⁶²
ENTRY- LEVEL TAGET JOB:
Data Analyst (64 hours)
TOP JOBS:
- Artificial Intelligence Specialist
- Data Scientist
- Data Engineer
- Big Data Developer
- Data Analyst
TOP FIELDS OF STUDY:
- Business
- Computer Science
- Engineering
- Biological Sciences
- Social Sciences
KEY LEARNING AREAS FOR ENTRY-LEVEL DATA & AI ROLES:
- Data analysis in Excel
- Databases and data management in SQL
- Statistical programming in Python or R
- Statistical techniques like regression and A/B testing
- Data visualization
ENGINEERING
Developing software solutions
WHAT IT IS:
The process of analyzing user requirements and then designing, building, and testing software application which will satisfy those requirements.
WHY IT MATTERS:
Software engineering jobs are expected to grow 22% through 2029, which is much faster than the 4% average across all occupations. ¹⁶³
ENTRY-LEVEL TARGET JOB:
Web Developer (49 hours)
TOP JOBS:
- Python Developer
- Full Stack Engineer
- JavaScript Developer
- Backend Developer
- Frontend Engineer
TOP FIELDS OF STUDY:
- Engineering
- Computer Science
- Business
- Physical Sciences
- Biological Sciences
KEY LEARNING AREAS FOR ENTRY- LEVEL ENGINEERING ROLES:
- Programming practices and developer environments
- Practice the basics of coding in a high-level language like Python
- Basic algorithms like loops and conditional logic
- Basic web application with CSS, HTML, and JavaScript
- Practice how to collaborate on code in a team with other developers
MARKETING
Building brand and acquiring customers
WHAT IT IS:
The activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product or service.
WHY IT MATTERS:
Modern consumers want seamless experiences, with 90% of them expecting consistent brand interactions across all channels. Digital marketing allows companies to reach users anywhere, anytime – and digital enables companies to serve more effective, personalized advertising. ¹⁶⁴
ENTRY – LEVEL TARGET JOB:
Marketing Specialist (69 hours)
JOBS TOP:
- Growth Hacker
- Digital Marketing Specialist
- E-commerce Specialist
- Commerce Manager
- Head of Digital꙳
TOP FIELDS OF STUDY:
- Business
- Arts and Humanities
- Engineering
- Social Sciences
- Computer Science
KEY LEARNING AREAS FOR ENTRY- LEVEL MARKETING ROLES:
- Basics of social media marketing
- Project management skills
- Strategic advertising campaigns
- Measurement and campaign optimization
- Content marketing and other complementary marketing specialties
PEOPLE & CULTURE
Creating positive work
environments
WHAT IT IS:
Creating positive work environments for employees in which they feel integrated, engaged, and aligned to their workplace.
WHY IT MATTERS:
Organizations with highly engaged employees report 2.3 times greater- average revenue growth and have employees that are 87% less likely to leave. ¹⁶⁵
ENTRY- LEVEL TARGET JOB:
Recruiter (53 hours)
TOP JOBS:
- Information Technology Recruiter
- Human Resources Partner
- Talent Acquisition Specialist
- Business Partner
- Recruiter
TOP FIELDS OF STUDY:
- Education
- Legal Professions
- Arts and Humanities
- Business
- Social Sciences
KEY LEARNING AREAS FOR ENTRY- LEVEL PEOPLE & CULTURE ROLES:
- Managing human capital
- Motivation, rewards, and systems of work
- How to recruit, hire, and onboard employees
- Promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace
- How to design compensation and benefits
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Fulfilling customer needs through innovation
WHAT IT IS:
Product Development is the process of delivering a new product or improving an existing one for customers. These customers can be external or internal a company. Product Development can involve many different types of products from software to hardware to consumer goods and services.
WHY IT MATTERS:
Customer expectations are at an all-time high. Over three-quarters of customers said it’s easier than ever to take their business elsewhere, switching to different brands to find an experience that matches their expectations. And two-thirds of customers expect companies to provide new products and services more frequently and say it takes more to impress them with new products and service (than ever before). ¹⁶⁶
ENTRY-LEVEL TARGET JOB:
Product Manager (54 hours)
TOP JOBS:
- Product Manager
- Quality Assurance Tester
- Agile Coach
- Product Analyst
- Scrum Master
TOP FIELDS OF STUDY:
- Business
- Engineering
- Computer Science
- Social Sciences
- Art and Humanities
KEY LEARNING AREAS FOR ENTRY-LEVEL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ROLES:
- Strategy and planning
- How to conduct market research
- User experience design
- Management methodologies like Agile and Scrum
- Problem solving techniques
SALES
Finding customers and solutions for their challenges
WHAT IT IS:
Finding prospective customers for a company’s products and services and working with them to identify their challenges and needs, and ultimately find a solution.
WHY IT MATTERS:
The role of the salesperson is transforming. By 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyer are expected to occur in digital channels, and 60% of B2B sales organizations will transition from experience and intuition-based selling to data-driven selling. ¹⁶⁷
ENTRY-LEVEL TARGET JOB:
Sales Development Rep (SDR) (38 hours)
TOP JOBS:
- Customer Success Specialist
- Sales Development Representative
- Commercial Sales Representative
- Business Development Representative
- Partnerships Specialist
TOP FIELDS OF STUDY:
- Business
- Engineering
- Computer Science
- Social Science
- Arts and Humanities
KEY LEARNING AREAS FOR ENTRY-LEVEL SALES ROLES:
- Time management and other professional productivity skills
- Sales process
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems like Salesforce
- Business writing, public speaking, and strategic communications for sales
- Negotiation skills
CARE ECONOMY
Supporting the well-being of our communities
WHAT IT IS:
Care work encompasses a range of sectors such as education, health, and social work involving teachers, nurses, community health workers, social workers, and domestic workers.
WHY IT MATTERS:
The world’s population is living longer than at any other time history. Populations of all countries are aging. Even in countries that currently have comparatively high fertility rates but lower life expectancy at birth. Provision of care persons with short-term or with chronic illnesses or disabilities also need to be considered. Care for the elderly and the sick often falls on women and girls. ¹⁶⁸
CASE STUDY:
In 2020, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with Bloomberg Philanthropies launched a contacting course on Coursera in three languages to quickly train needed global professionals in the fight against COVID-19. The course reached over 750k learners and resulted in over 340k course completions.
ENTRY-LEVEL TARGET JOB:
Contact Tracer
TOP JOBS:
- Medical Transcriptionists
- Physical Therapist Aides
- Radiation Therapists
- Medical Assistants
- Medical Equipment Preparers
TOP FIELDS OF STUDY:
- Health Professions
- Social Sciences
- Biological Sciences
- Arts and Humanities
- Business
GREEN ECONOMY
Building a sustainable future
WHATS IT IS:
The green economy is defined as an economy that aims at making issues of reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment.
WHY IT MATTERS:
By 2030, 24 million new jobs will be created globally if the right policies to promote a greener economy are put in place. Today, 1.2 billion jobs rely directly on the effective management and sustainability of a healthy environment. ¹⁶⁹
ENTRY-LEVEL TARGET JOB:
Green Markets
TOP JOBS:
- Wind Turbine Technicians
- Green Marketers
- Biofuels Processing Technicians
- Solar Energy Installation Managers
- Water Resource Specialists
KEY LEARNING AREAS FOR ENTRY-LEVEL GREEN ECONOMY ROLES:
- Greenhouse gases and carbon footprints
- Climate risk and issues like food security
- Different responses to climate change
- Sustainable agriculture and pollution control
- Renewable energy and systems transformation
Jocelle Batapa Sigue 