Job Skills That Are in Demand

One of the best things that you can do to improve your earning potential is to develop new skills and improve on the ones you already have. But you can’t pick just any skill to develop – you have to focus on skills that employers are looking for. You probably know people – friends and family – that are looking for a job but not having an easy time with it. But did you know that there are many employers out there that are just as frustrated because they have jobs available, but they can’t find qualified candidates?

According to experts, the skills gap in Ontario is estimated to cost the economy as much as $24.3 B in GDP and up to $3.7 B in provincial tax revenues annually. So you can quickly see how valuable a little skill development can be.

But which skills should you develop? According to a study based on job postings found on LinkedIn, here are some of the top soft and hard skills that employers are looking for right now:

Soft Skills That Employers are Looking for:

  • Creativity – while jobs that involve mathematical formulas and pre-set designs are taken over more and more by robots, and AI, it is workers with creativity that will help develop the solutions of tomorrow.
  • Persuasion – as the world races to adopt new technology, companies will need people who can persuade the masses to adopt their technology over their competitors’ technology.
  • Collaboration – projects will continue to increase in their complexity, so it will be necessary to have larger teams with various skillsets who can all work together.
  • Adaptability – technology, politics, and world economies are rapidly changing the way we do business. Being adaptable is essential for success.
  • Time management – while this has always been a highly sought-after skill by employers, it is more important than ever today as employees are often asked to juggle multiple tasks and must be able to set aside appropriate time for each one.

Hard Skills That Employers are Looking for:

  • Cloud Computing – as more companies move toward storing their important data on the cloud, there will be more need for engineers who can help accommodate the demand.
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) – As AI becomes more sophisticated, the world will need more highly skilled developers to help take it to the next level.
  • Analytical Reasoning – we live in an age of Big Data, and companies will need people who can make sense of it all and draw conclusions from it.
  • People management – as the team continues to grow in its importance, employers will need more people who have the leadership skills necessary to inspire and motivate the people around them.
  • UX Design – since digital marketing has become mainstream and – in some ways – more important than older, more traditional forms of marketing, websites, apps, etc. all have to be optimized for humans. UX design is a skill that helps to accomplish this.

If you are looking to take on any self-Improvement projects this summer, why not work on improving one or more of the skills mentioned above. Whether you take a course or work on your own, developing these skills will help to make you more valuable to your current (or future) employer.