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Stephanie Neusser
Marketing Lead
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What top skills will employees need in 2025 and beyond to make the company future-proof? And how well positioned is the company in the market?
Many companies are facing the challenge of maintaining their competitive edge in a rapidly changing world. Artificial intelligence (AI), automation and digital tools are shaping everyday working life, while soft skills such as critical thinking and adaptability are becoming increasingly important. These developments are creating new professions and industries - and require new skills to master them. If your team has the right skills for the working world of tomorrow, this will not only strengthen your market position, but also ensure long-term success.
In the following, you will find out which skills you should look out for in applicants in 2025 - and more importantly: which further training opportunities you can offer your team.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally changing the way we work - and those who utilise it efficiently have a clear advantage. But AI-supported systems are only as good as the instructions they receive. This is where AI prompting comes into play: the ability to formulate targeted queries in order to get the best results from AI tools such as ChatGPT or automation platforms.
Companies that use AI and automation sensibly increase their productivity and gain valuable time for strategic tasks. However, the effective use of AI requires new skills. Employees must learn to create precise prompts and optimise processes through automation. AI-supported tools are now used in almost all areas of a company - from marketing and customer service to software development and project management. Those who have mastered AI prompting can delegate recurring tasks efficiently and make better decisions.
In a world where artificial intelligence (AI) is generating more and more content, critical thinking is becoming a key skill. AI models can deliver impressive texts, images and data analyses - but they are not infallible. False information and so-called hallucinations are one of the biggest challenges when using AI.
Employees must learn not only to use AI-generated content, but also to critically scrutinise it: Are the data sources reliable? Is the conclusion logical? What biases could be in the model? Companies that actively promote critical thinking ensure that AI is used as support and not as the sole decision-making authority. Those who examine AI content with reflection and make well-founded decisions minimise risks and create sustainable value.
“DATA IS THE NEW OIL” - CLIVE HUMBY
You're probably familiar with this quote from British mathematician and Tesco marketing mastermind Clive Humby, who said: “Data is the new oil.” It is proven that intelligent data enables companies to make better decisions, create more transparency, streamline processes, increase productivity, and achieve higher profits. But many companies still need help to equip their employees with the skills they need to make good use of data. For this reason, data skills have become one of the most important skills in many companies.
The ability to read, work with, analyze, and reason with data is known as Data literacy referred to. Interaction with data is constantly increasing in all areas of a company, whether in marketing, sales, human resources, or project management. As a result, companies are building data expertise not only in their data and IT departments, but also in other departments. As a result, improving data literacy today is less about individual expertise and more about understanding data, sharing knowledge, and having meaningful conversations about data.
Agile project management (APM) is a project management philosophy that focuses on collaboration between individuals and customers, rapid delivery, and flexibility when change occurs. In this new world of hybrid and decentralized work, much more planning and support is needed to ensure team cohesion and coordination.
As a result, every team member at all levels, including management, now needs communication, organization, and agility skills. As a result, cross-functional roles such as agile coach, product owner, and project manager are on the rise. These roles are responsible for bringing departments and team members together and promoting collaboration within the company. They require a specific mix of skills, including frameworks like SCRUM, project tools like JIRA, and other technical and soft skills. Soft skills include organization, time management, verbal communication, leadership, positive thinking, listening, critical thinking, and building effective relationships.
Low- and no-code applications are the solution to the IT skills gap. They enable employees to develop applications without the need for in-depth programming knowledge - thanks to powerful development tools. ‘Low code’ refers to software development with graphical, user-friendly tools for automating certain types of applications. ‘No code’ goes one step further and allows the creation of software without any programming.
As the IT skills gap continues to grow, these skills are becoming relevant for more and more professional fields. The shortage of IT experts means that companies need employees who understand and can use digital technologies. AI is further reinforcing this trend: AI-supported assistants facilitate development, optimise workflows and automate code creation. Those who combine low- and no-code with AI can develop customised solutions faster, drive innovation and relieve the burden on the IT department.
Digital marketing uses technology to reach customers in a targeted manner - via channels such as search engine marketing (SEO/SEM), content marketing, email marketing or social media. But today, it is no longer just about traditional advertising measures: Recruiting, employer branding and sales are also increasingly relying on digital strategies.
Success in this area requires a wide range of skills - from data analysis and search engine optimisation to creative storytelling and social media management. Social media in particular plays a central role: it is a marketing, sales and recruiting tool at the same time. Companies are increasingly relying on social media experts who not only create content, but also recognise trends, strategically align campaigns and drive community development.
In a working world that is constantly changing due to technological innovations, new ways of working and changing markets, adaptability is becoming a key competence. Employees who react flexibly to change, quickly familiarise themselves with new technologies and are open to new processes give companies a decisive advantage.
The rapid progress in areas such as artificial intelligence, automation and digital collaboration in particular requires a willingness to continuously evolve. Those who master adaptability can not only work efficiently with new tools, but also actively contribute to the company's ability to innovate.
8. Cybersecurity The internet and modern technology have become an integral part of today's society. Even though these inventions offer considerable advantages, it would be foolish to overlook their dangers. In order to move safely in the digital sphere, employees must learn how to protect themselves and their company from cyber attacks.
Cybercrime is no longer a marginal phenomenon, as its consequences are often costly. All employees should be aware of the various security threats, from malware attacks to phishing and IoT attacks. Even if awareness of this topic is good, it is not enough in most cases. Employees should also learn how to prevent cyberattacks. The data targeted by cyber criminals is often worth millions - and because data is the new oil, it is important to protect this valuable asset.
Digital technologies have fundamentally changed the way we work together. Remote and hybrid work are no longer stopgap solutions, but an integral part of the modern working world. Successful teams must therefore be able to communicate and collaborate efficiently regardless of location.
Clear communication, the right use of digital tools and a strong feedback culture are crucial, especially in distributed teams. AI-supported tools, asynchronous workflows and virtual collaboration are now standard - but without the right soft skills, misunderstandings can arise, workflows can come to a standstill and team spirit can suffer. Those who master this skill ensure smooth coordination, productive meetings and a strong digital team culture - regardless of time zones or work locations.
The 21st century is characterized by the rapid emergence and development of new technologies, particularly in the digital world. It is therefore more important than ever for companies and their employees to keep pace with new technologies, software and learning methods.
Innovation management is the key for today's companies to remain competitive and successful in a rapidly changing market environment. As a manager, when you drive innovation within your organization, your teams can discover new business opportunities, save unnecessary costs, be more flexible, and significantly improve your R&D projects. Innovation methods such as Product Discovery, Design Thinking, Design Sprints, and Lean Startup can create, deliver and capture real added value for your company.
Many of the skills listed here have to do with digital skills. That's no surprise as we've entered a new decade of increasing digital transformation. In this rapidly changing environment, skill gaps can widen much faster than ever before.
Would you like to read more about how skills are shaping the future of work?
Download the full Skills Insights Report with skill data from over 500,000 job offers.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in November 2021 and has been completely revised and updated to ensure accuracy and completeness.
edyoucated is funded by leading research institutions such as the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).
