Rapidly evolving technology,  geoeconomic changes, and shifting labor demands are driving the need for workers to continually upgrade their skills. “There is an urgent need for investment in reskilling and lifelong learning to catalyze systemic change, close national skills gaps, and encourage industry-led collaboration on skills mapping and talent development,” the World Economic Forum (WEF) said in June.

Over the next five years, “22% of today’s global jobs are expected to change due to technological advancements,” it said. The WEF also noted that employers anticipate nearly 60% of workers will need upskilling by 2030.

Generative AI (GenAI), which parses web-based information to answer questions, will continue to transform jobs and industries worldwide. “AI has the potential to unlock $15.7 trillion in global economic value by 2030, but these gains will depend on our ability to equip people with the skills needed to harness its power,” according to Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera, a global online learning platform. “Businesses, higher education institutions, and governments must work together to accelerate the rate of workforce upskilling and reskilling.”

The Global Talent Trends 2024–2025 report by Mercer, a global human resources consulting firm, explores the best practices companies can utilize to evaluate, reward, and nurture human contributions, fostering employees’ productivity.

As generative AI becomes increasingly integrated into daily workflows, it prompts a shift in the required workplace skills. Coursera’s Job Skills Report 2025 underscores the top-ranked skills across business, data science, and technology.

Productivity vs. Employee 

Mercer’s report highlighted that in 2024, boosting employee productivity emerged as the priority for business transformation.

It showed that nearly two in five workers feel more replaceable and less valued than they did four years ago. Meanwhile, the challenge lies not only in adapting technology to new ways of working, but also in redefining productivity metrics to capture employees’ long-term value.

To boost productivity, the report stressed the importance of having a clear understanding of the work that needs to be done and insight into the capacity and capability of the people who will do it. In addition to capability, productivity rests on having sufficient capacity, not measured in hours alone, “but also in the capacity to learn new ways of working, to have dedicated, uninterrupted time to work, and to optimally integrate life inside and outside of work.”

Interestingly, work redesign, which was predicted in 2024 to have the least impact on productivity, has now proven to be the most transformative, according to Mercer’s report. Among organizations whose HR leaders consider them world-class in work redesign, 88% have reported measurable productivity gains.

“By deconstructing jobs and redeploying tasks to optimize work, organizations can create new jobs that reflect changing skills needs and make work more accessible to nontraditional talent,” said the report.

To maintain employee satisfaction and productivity, the report emphasized three practices: benevolence, competence and integrity. It noted that benevolence as a business strategy involves actively listening to employees, understanding their needs, and designing roles that empower them. In addition, it involves ensuring they feel included throughout their journey.

Notably, security remains the primary factor in employee retention. In 2024, the report said, other key factors included fair compensation, a positive workplace culture and opportunities for growth. “Investing in these areas demonstrates an organization’s trust in its employees and willingness to commit to their long-term success.”

Another key is competence, which has to be mutual, meaning that leaders must trust that their people have the skills to succeed, while employees need to trust that their leaders are held accountable. “If employees feel their leaders don’t have faith in their abilities, they might be right. In 2024, 74% of executives believed the majority of their workforce cannot adapt to the new world of work, up from 61% in 2020,” the report said.

Finally, integrity plays a vital role in the workplace by ensuring consistency between words and actions. The report said embracing radical transparency, particularly in decisions around pay and promotions, can strengthen trust and accountability. This underscores the “importance of organizations honoring their compensation philosophies and recognizing employees for their unique performance, contributions, experience and skills.”

Utilizing tech

AI remains a critical tool that both employers and employees must learn. Mercer’s report showed that over half of executives (54%) believe their businesses would not survive beyond 2030 without embracing AI at scale. To capitalize on AI’s potential, “organizations need to ensure that their business and people plans are amplifying human progress,” said the report.

For companies, utilizing the intelligence of their talent would be instrumental in the use of data, assessments and analytics to understand the skills, capabilities and potential of a workforce. “It helps organizations make smarter decisions about hiring, development and deployment of talent,” the report said.

Based on that data, employee intelligence has the power to unlock hidden productivity by aligning work more effectively with individuals’ skills and motivations. According to the report, “Understanding people’s skills and gaps is also vital to encouraging employees to spend their learning time in value-adding ways — developing skills that are in-demand, pay a premium, and/or help them remain employable.”

This will enable agile flow-to-work models and enhance the precision of strategic workforce planning.

Market needs

According to Coursera’s Job Skills Report 2025, GenAI proficiency ranks first among the fastest-growing skills overall.

GenAI skills include using AI to generate text and images, and more. Coursera experienced 1,100%, 500%, and 1,600% spikes, respectively, in GenAI course enrollments by employees, students, and job seekers over the past year.

“Although AI and big data currently rank as the 15th most critical skills for mass employment, they are projected to become the third-highest priority for corporate training by 2027,” said the report. This shift highlights the growing importance of generative AI skills for both student career readiness and workforce competitiveness.

According to Coursera’s enrollment data, the AI workforce showcases significant gender disparities. “While more women are learning on Coursera overall (up 3% year-over-year), only 28% of Coursera’s GenAI course enrollments are women, said the report. Similarly, only 22% of AI professionals are women, said the report.

Meanwhile, it is pivotal to encourage women to pursue AI skills through educational initiatives and workplace policies. This, in turn, “would create a diverse talent pool that is capable of generating inclusive work, as well as potentially increasing global gross domestic product by 20%,” the report noted.

In business, the top-ranked skill is human resources (HR) technology, followed by risk mitigation & control. According to Mark Hanson, vice president of strategy at Lightcast, a labour market analytics firm, “HR tech is key to optimizing employee experiences, from talent acquisition to development. To succeed, organizations need integrated technology and intuitive workflows that empower teams with valuable analytics.”

Driven by a surge in cyberattacks, the demand for risk mitigation and control skills is rapidly growing. “In 2023 alone, there were over 2,300 breaches affecting more than 343 million people,” Coursera’s report showed. “The rise in cyber incidents has made organizations prioritize protection strategies, leading to a need for professionals who can effectively identify, assess and mitigate risks.”

Although today’s students are digital natives, the report said, many still lack sufficient awareness of cybersecurity threats, leading to less focus on risk management. “Equipping individuals with cybersecurity skills is crucial— these skills strengthen organizational defenses against attacks and empower people with fulfilling careers,” said Amanda Brophy, director of Grow with Google, a career certificate program. “The Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate provides a direct path to in-demand skills and promising career opportunities in the field.”

Among the fastest-growing data science skills, data ethics ranks first, shedding light on the importance of responsible and ethical use of data, according to Coursera. “Organizations experimenting with GenAI are cautious about proper use, ethics, bias, and especially risk exposure. Upskilling in data ethics and governance is crucial, as data breaches have been prevalent for years,” Hanson said.

Meanwhile, Coursera’s report showed “only 27% of data professionals actively check for skewed or biased data during data ingestion and just 17% of companies have a dedicated data governance committee.” As a result, data leaders require employees to be equipped with the necessary skills to maintain ethics and integrity upon hiring, the report noted.

Creating leaders

While companies seek to equip and hire employees with new skills that meet changing work dynamics, there is still a lack in filling some leadership positions. According to the HR Insights Report 2025 by DDI, a global leadership consulting firm, based on a survey of 2,185 HR professionals and 10,796 leaders, “58% of leaders say hiring the right talent for leadership roles is their toughest challenge.”

Notably, 75% of companies prioritize promoting employees to leadership roles from within, the report said. However, it showed that fewer than 20% of chief human resource officers believe their employees are prepared to step into critical leadership roles. “On average, internal candidates are available to fill just 49% of open leadership positions.”

Meanwhile, the report warned that the leadership gap may continue to increase in the future. The report indicated that “Gen Z is 1.4 times more likely than other generations to decline leadership roles and 2.8 times more likely to leave a job due to poor leadership.”

This is mainly because Gen Z employees are both focused on learning and maintaining work-life balance. According to the 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey by Deloitte, a multinational professional services network, “Gen Zs are more focused on work-life balance than climbing the corporate ladder. Only 6% say their primary career goal is to reach a leadership position.”

However, they don’t lack ambition. Instead, Gen Z looks for work environments that support their growth, development, and well-being. “As Gen Zs and millennials navigate a rapidly changing world of work, they are reevaluating the capabilities they need to succeed and the support they want from their employers,” said Elizabeth Faber, global chief people and purpose officer at Deloitte.

The survey showed Gen Z’s strongest reasons for choosing to work for their current employers include learning and development. Deloitte’s survey stressed, “Gen Zs and millennials want managers to provide guidance, inspiration, and mentorship, not just oversight of daily tasks.”