30 hot in-demand skills that can pull you out of labour market in next five years

Online course provider Coursera has published its industry skills report for 2021, detailing the most in-demand skills across the world right now.

The report is based on 26 skills in the business, technology, and data science domains. Each industry reported an acceleration in the need for technology skills to account for – at a minimum – the lack of physical interaction induced by the pandemic.

These are changes appear unlikely to recede as the pandemic does; instead, companies will continue to move forward with digitalisation at an accelerated pace, Coursera said.

“The rate of digital transformation due to pandemic lockdowns was substantial. Microsoft data shows that two years’ worth of transformation was concentrated into two months. And in the last weeks of March 2020, for example, there was as much broadband growth as some experts expected for the entire year,” Coursera said.

“Across industries, businesses are evolving despite the unplanned change to remote work requirements, and increased broadband use is just one indicator.”

149 million new jobs

To maintain the transformation velocity, specific technology and data skills are needed across industries—namely cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analysis, and software development, Coursera said.

Adding workers with these skills will fuel growth, and it’s anticipated that by 2025 there will be 149 million new digital jobs focused on these skills, it said.

“Currently, our analysis of trending skills in the technology and data science domains shows that people are highly interested in learning software engineering and data analysis skills. Many of the trending skills in those domains can also be applied to cloud computing and cybersecurity; however, we expect to see an increase in interest for those specific skill sets as well.”

While technology and data science skills are critical, on their own, they aren’t enough to achieve proficiency for the new world of digital work, Coursera said.

Because of this, the group also tracked trending skills in the business domain as workers will need a combination of technology skills, business enablers, and durable human skills to be most effective in a digital economy.

These skills are outlined in more detail below.