Employee Skill Development: In-demand Skills Employees Currently Need

In an uncertain business environment, organizations need employees with good problem-solving skills and strategic thinking. These non-technical skills are equally important in the modern workplace. To that end, let’s discuss the various in-demand skills that should be part of employee skill development in 2023.

In-Demand Soft Skills

As more employees work from remote locations, they need to possess soft skills in addition to technical expertise. Here are seven leading soft skills in demand in 2023

1. Interpersonal Communication
   Among the essential work skills, interpersonal communication is the employee’s ability to work with other project team members. Applicable across industries, interpersonal communication skills include effective speaking, listening, and questioning capabilities.
2. Time management
   Efficient time management is another in-demand soft skill necessary for getting work done on time and every time. Time management is all about managing one’s own (and others’) time efficiently and productively.
3. Problem-Solving
   Problem-solving is a necessary skill that enables employees to identify customer or business problems and recommend the best solution. Problem-solving skills involve a lot of active listening, empathy, objectivity, and decision-making.
4. Adaptability
   Adaptability skills are necessary for an employee to adapt to changing work environments and challenges. An adaptable individual is flexible enough to keep pace with changing technologies and customer demands.
5. Leadership
   Leadership skills are necessary for employees looking to climb to a higher level or assume more responsibilities. Leadership skills include qualities like effective communication, empathy, problem-solving, and team building.
6. Communication
   Be it through face-to-face interactions or communication tools, today’s employees must have effective communication skills to succeed in the workplace. Communication skills include verbal and written communication, positive body language, and public speaking capabilities.
7. Collaboration
   Collaboration skills are a combination of effective communication, emotional intelligence, and organization skills. These soft skills are essential for project team members and when working closely with other teams daily.

Next, let’s discuss the technical or hard skills employers look for in their employees.

In-Demand Hard Skills (Technical)

IBM recommends that employees update their technical skills once every 2.5 years. Here are the five most in-demand hard or technical skills that employers will need in 2023:

1. Data Analysis and Visualization
   Data analysis is the technical skill that enables employees to work with different data sources and extract actionable insights for business benefit. Data visualization is the ability to convert massive volumes of data into easy-to-understand charts, graphs, and other visual aids to improve decision-making among business users.
2. Cloud computing
   Employers are constantly looking for professionals skilled in cloud computing skills. This includes expertise in cloud migration, cloud hosting, cloud security, and cloud-based application development. Employees with industry-recognized cloud certifications in Google Cloud, AWS, and Microsoft Azure are in high demand.
3. Artificial intelligence and machine learning
   Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are the top technical skills in organizations looking to automate manually-performed tasks. AI and ML models are also used to analyze and solve complex business challenges across industries.
4. Cybersecurity
   Be it for network security or data protection, every data-dependent organization is looking for technical professionals skilled in cybersecurity. Some of the essential cybersecurity skills include risk identification, data management, and troubleshooting.
5. Programming and Coding
   Finally, application development companies need programmers and coders to develop high-quality applications or software programs. The most in-demand programming languages include C++, Java, MySQL, JavaScript, and Python.

Next, let’s discuss some of the in-demand professional and leadership skills that organizations are seeking in 2023.

In-Demand Professional and Leadership Skills

Less than 50% of employees regard their company’s leadership team as high quality. Here are three essential professional and leadership skills to acquire in 2023:

1. Strategic Thinking
   Individuals with strategic thinking capabilities can clearly define business goals and objectives. They can also use critical thinking to solve business problems. Strategic thinking skills include a proactive approach to addressing issues, problem-solving skills, and analytical thinking.
2. Business Acumen
   Individuals skilled in business acumen can quickly understand and manage business situations. They possess industry or organization-specific knowledge about how and why to get things done right.
3. Adaptability
   At the leadership level, adaptability is all about business leaders adapting to organizational and market changes. Adaptability is also about leveraging diverse thinking among teams and addressing the concerns and emotions of every employee.

How to Acquire On-Demand Skills

If you lack any of these in-demand skills, you can acquire them and improve your value to prospective employers. Here are four effective ways to improve your professional development skills:

1. Take an online course
   Online courses are the best skill-building method for young or experienced employees. For the best results, select the training provider that is best suited to impart soft, hard, and leadership skills.
2. Learn at Your Current Job
   If you don’t have time to attend a full-time course, then your current workplace is the best place to learn new skills. Look at experienced employees who already possess any of these in-demand skills. Ask for useful tips and recommendations from them, or learn through hands-on training.
3. Get an internship
   To learn new in-demand skills, you can also enroll as an intern with a company that focuses on any of these skills. An internship is the best way to work with experienced professionals and, most importantly, gain hands-on experience in any industry.
4. Create a Self-Study Program
   The online web is full of useful libraries, books, online courses, and other reference material. Create a self-study program and take some time out every day (or week) to learn a new skill.

Employers can also elevate their employees’ skills through an employee skill development program. Let’s see how in the following section.

How Employers Can Help Employees Develop On-Demand Skills

Employers can help facilitate employee development and help them acquire these in-demand skills. Here are some effective ways to improve employee skill development:

1. Provide access to training and education
   To improve their work, employees look to employers to provide them with continuous access to training and educational resources. Employers can invest in learning management systems to provide such access to their employees.
2. Create mentoring opportunities
   An organized mentorship program can help organizations attract and retain young talent from diverse backgrounds and skills. Mentorship provides a structured framework that can cater to the employee’s skill development.
3. Offer job rotations
   Job rotations enable employees to stay motivated and also learn new skills and roles in the same organization. Through job rotations, employees are also exposed to various business functions and processes.
4. Encourage networking and collaboration
   Organizations can also leverage the power of networking and collaboration among employees of different teams. This helps in brainstorming and the sharing of creative ideas among different teams.

How do employees’ training and development in these skills benefit them? Let’s discuss that next.

The Benefits of Having On-Demand Skills

Be it soft or hard skills, acquiring in-demand skills can benefit employees in their professional careers. Here are three main benefits of having in-demand skills:

1. Increased job security
   Professionals with in-demand skills are more valued by employers than those who do not possess these skills. This means more job security in the same organization and more opportunities to move up the organization’s hierarchy.
2. Higher earning potential
   Skilled employees are in high demand across various companies and industries. By acquiring the aforementioned skills, employees can improve their earning potential and demand better remuneration.
3. Ability to solve complex problems
   Through skills like problem-solving and collaboration, employees can improve their ability to tackle complex business problems. This makes them a valuable asset in any organization.

Staying ahead of the curve

Through employee skill development, employees can stay ahead of the curve and identify useful skills to develop in today’s modern workplace. On the other hand, organizations can retain and engage their workforce through a comprehensive employee learning program. To facilitate an employee training program for its customers, Gyrus offers the GyrusAim learning management system with a host of features. Want to learn more? Schedule a free product demo!