How important are skills for my career growth?

For many of us, the latter is particularly crucial. Career growth is often closely linked to a sense of personal achievement; feeling that you are advancing toward your goals is key in avoiding burnout, a lack of fulfilment, and in maintaining motivation at work.

Today, it is arguably impossible to maintain career growth without focusing on your skill set, matching it to the demands of both current and future workplaces. The 2025 World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report predicted that 39% of the core skills employees require at work would change by the end of the decade. With companies increasingly focusing on skills-based hiring, your skills are fundamental to your career growth opportunities.

Why skills are more important than ever for your career

Conversations around the importance of skills today come at a pivotal time in the evolution of work, working life, and organizational dynamics.

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting virtually all industries, particularly those which historically have been key areas for those seeking careers in business, such as finance, professional services and consulting, and technology.

As technology allows for the automation of key tasks, organizations are having to reorient business models and reshape the responsibilities of roles and functions. Inevitably, this has led to concerns over job displacement, and indeed to headcount reductions spanning multinational employers across various industries.

However, in many cases, advancements in AI are leading to new ways of working for employees. Simultaneously, experts at the World Economic Forum predict that these changes will lead to 170 million new jobs by 2030.

Within this environment, your skills are crucial in allowing you to navigate industry upheaval and ensure that you can work and add value within an AI-enabled workplace. 

What skills do I need to continue my career growth?

Preparing yourself to maintain your career prospects within this landscape does not rely on one singular approach. Employers are not simply looking for all of their workers to become prompt engineers; companies are instead seeking a variety of different skills, these range from your technical capabilities to how you work with others within an organization.

The WEF Report reveals that today the most in-demand skills among companies are: analytical thinking, resilience, flexibility and agility, leadership, and social influence. These can broadly be characterized as soft skills—sometimes referred to as ‘smart skills’ or other names—meaning they are less oriented around your ability to complete tasks and more concerned with how you navigate workplace dynamics and function in different contexts.

Soft skills are inherently transferable, transcending role and industry. They can be crucial in allowing you to build connections, navigate interviews, and manage others—often this means they grow in importance as you progress in your career. Within an environment that is both uncertain and rapidly evolving, possessing these skills can allow you to increase your organizational influence beyond your individual contributions, improve your ability to adapt to new roles and responsibilities, and bolster your resilience.

The importance of soft skills for career growth within an AI-enabled landscape does not, however, eliminate the need to be able to contribute to day-to-day tasks by employing technical skills related to your role and industry.

Hard skills—so called because of their technical nature and ties to particular sectors and functions, often requiring training and experience—remain vital for future-proofing your career. They are typically more likely to be influenced by technological change.

Among the skills where employers most expected to see increasing demand over the coming five years, according to the WEF report, understanding AI and big data was the most popular. It was followed by adeptness within the fields of networks and cybersecurity. Across the top 10 industries, more than 90% of employers said they expected AI and big data to be used more frequently in coming years.

The findings illustrate the importance of future-proofing your career by upskilling in the technical areas that are either impacting or are likely to impact your workplace in future. Identifying use cases and finding ways to provide value can in turn demonstrate the value you bring to organizations. As your responsibilities and tasks are increasingly shaped by technological change, upskilling can ensure you are able to continue to have an impact in your role.

How do I address my skills gaps?

You can be proactive in preparing yourself for sustained career growth by identifying and addressing gaps in your skill set. This is a useful exercise that not only allows you to future-proof your career but also help refine your career plans and establish a framework detailing the steps required to achieve your goals.

Those goals are the starting point: establishing key milestones you aim to achieve in the near, mid, and long-term future allows you to work backwards and establish which skills you will need in order to get there.

If your goal involves elevating to a new role within your current path, speaking with superiors can help you figure out areas where they feel you need to improve. You may also consider pursuing higher education via a business master’s or MBA to build your experience and management expertise, or a certification if there is a more specialized skill gap you need to fill.

If you aim to pivot into a new position or industry, reviewing job descriptions can help you identify common skills that you currently lack or typical pathways that those already occupying your target position have taken. This could in turn allow you to build a career plan that ensures the necessary qualifications, experience, and skill set to achieve your ambitions.