By 2030, 59% of employees will need to acquire new skills. This figure highlights a pressing issue: our current HR practices are no longer fit for purpose. But how can we anticipate the key skills of tomorrow? And more importantly, how can we support employees in evolving, rather than constantly seeking new talent?
This is the major challenge facing every organisation: to start shaping today the essential skills that will secure their future.
A world of work undergoing rapid transformation
Over the past decade, the job market has experienced more disruption than in the previous thirty years. The rapid acceleration of digitalisation, the explosion of data, the widespread adoption of remote working, and the rise of generative AI have profoundly transformed the very nature of work.
This transformation is speeding up. The World Economic Forum (WEF) anticipates that 40% of current skills will evolve by 2030. Most roles will not disappear — but they will fundamentally change in nature, expectations, and goals.
A concrete example:
In 2010, a sales professional needed to master phone prospecting, client follow-up, and face-to-face negotiation. By 2025, that same role requires fluency with advanced CRM tools, the ability to generate content with AI, real-time data analysis, and managing omnichannel relationships (social media, chatbots, video calls).
By 2030, a salesperson will no longer be simply a seller. They will be an “augmented conductor”: able to manage AI-driven scenarios, anticipate needs before they arise, and above all, build the trust that no machine can replicate.
This applies to every profession — technical, managerial, or creative. It’s not just technology that’s changing, but also employee expectations.
The skills shortage: myth or reality?
We hear a lot about the “talent shortage”. Companies say they can’t find the right candidates; applicants say they don’t match expectations; turnover is rising.
But the real question is: are we truly lacking talent, or are we still using outdated criteria to identify it?
In many cases, it’s not a lack of people — it’s that the assessment tools haven’t kept pace. We’re still relying on CVs, past experience, and degrees — yet none of these reflect someone’s ability to learn, adapt, or grow in a constantly changing environment.
The current imperative is to rethink how we define and identify the right skills.
The critical skills for 2030
According to the WEF's Future of Jobs Report 2025, it is not technical skills alone that will set professionals apart. Soft skills and transversal competencies are becoming central.
Among the fastest-growing skills are:
- Analytical thinking and complex problem solving, essential to navigate a world flooded with data and constant change
- Resilience and adaptability, to cope with uncertainty and successive disruptions
- Curiosity and active learning, as the ability to learn continuously outweighs existing knowledge
- Emotional intelligence and collaboration, as AI takes over technical tasks, leaving humans to coordinate, cooperate, and build meaning collectively
- Digital and AI fluency, not to become technical experts, but to interact with, apply, and integrate technology into daily work
In short, the critical skills of tomorrow are hybrid: they combine functional mastery of tools with behavioural excellence to ensure adaptability.
Evolving roles: concrete examples
The salesperson
In the past, knowing your product and persuading the client was enough. Today, sales professionals must analyse buying behaviours, detect weak signals, personalise their approach across channels, and collaborate with marketing.
Tomorrow, their success will depend as much on interpreting data as on their ability to build human trust.
The manager
Previously valued for their technical expertise and ability to organise work, today’s manager is expected to be a facilitator, a coach, and a custodian of team cohesion.
Tomorrow, they will need to master human–AI collaboration, lead remote and multidisciplinary teams, and embody an inspiring vision.
The technician or engineer
Once defined by specific technical know-how, they are now expected to integrate automation tools, work remotely, communicate across departments, and engage in ongoing learning to keep pace with new standards.
These examples illustrate that tomorrow’s top performers won’t be defined by technical expertise alone, but by their ability to learn quickly, collaborate effectively, and embrace change.
The talent of tomorrow is already here
It’s time for a shift in perspective. Rather than endlessly searching for rare profiles externally, organisations must begin to value talent already within their teams — differently.
The critical skills of 2030 won’t simply appear on a CV. They will be cultivated in organisations that know how to anticipate, develop, and fully harness their human potential.
This belief lies at the heart of our approach — and will be the central theme of our upcoming Innovation Weeks 2025 webinar series.
Register now to join the conversation and explore these essential topics.
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