Nearly 40% of the skills employers value today will change by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum. Here’s why “skills that matter” are becoming the new gold standard for education and hiring.
I’m admittedly not an oracle. I’m a founder, a learner, and someone who’s spent years talking to people in education and training, I've observed firsthand one stubborn truth: degrees alone don’t prepare people for an unpredictable, rapidly evolving job market.
At a conference in London not long ago, a young man, maybe 22, approached me to ask about internships or jobs. When I asked what he had studied, he hesitated and said, “Philosophy… but I think I want to do something in data science.” He had recently graduated and realized, as much as he loved his subject, his degree alone wasn’t going to open the door to the career he wanted.
What struck me most was that this realization wasn’t driven by parental pressure or external expectations, it came from within. In our conversation, it became clear he already possessed a range of valuable skills that went far beyond his degree. Encounters like this remind me that it’s not the degree itself that shapes a career, it’s the skills within it that truly matter.
It is therefore my belief that degrees matter, but skills will matter most.
In his degree, he didn't just master "philopshy", he mastered many other skills. He could add these to his CV to make him stand out, yet his claims to these skills would be disregarded, as they should be as they are neither quantifiable nor validated. Yet it are these skills that the world is demanding from people, such as creative thinking, problem solving.
That conversation in London has stuck with me until today, not because the young man lacked potential, but because his potential wasn’t visible in a way the market values. And he’s far from alone. Demand for capabilities like analytical thinking, creativity, and AI literacy is accelerating, while many graduates are still entering the job market with skills that aren’t clearly documented, measured, or aligned to these needs. Here are few examples on why skills will matter more than credentials.
1. The World Is Demanding Real Skills, Not Just Credentials
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 tells us that nearly 39% of key skills in demand will shift by 2030, with technological skills, like AI, big data, cybersecurity, and digital literacy, obviously rising fastest (World Economic Forum). Yet, while credentials still matter, they’re increasingly insufficient on their own.
Employers are looking for adaptable, creative thinkers, not diploma holders. A recent finding tells us only 3% of managers believe graduates are fully prepared for the workplace—a sobering statistic for higher education (The Times).
2. Human-Centered Skills Will Outlast Automation
AI is powerful, but it won’t replace human creativity, emotional intelligence, or moral reasoning. Instead, it makes these qualities even more vital.
A recent analysis highlights eight such irreplaceable human skills, like empathy, critical thinking, resilience, and creativity, that will remain relevant for decades (The Times of India). Similarly, a Wired piece estimates that the skills required for jobs have already evolved by 25% since 2015, and that figure may reach 65% by 2030 (WIRED).
3. Complementary Skills Amplify Value, Especially in an AI Age
I came across a fascinating study that tracked over 12 million job ads. Its findings were simple yet powerful: AI isn’t eliminating work, it’s transforming it. Demand for AI-complementary skills such as teamwork, digital literacy, and resilience is growing, 50% more, in fact, than AI replacement effects (arXiv).
4. A Skills-First Mindset Is Already Reshaping Hiring
Education and hiring systems are waking up to this shift. A report found that for AI and green roles, employers are now prioritizing skills over degrees. From 2018 to 2023, demand for AI roles grew, while mentions of formal university qualifications dropped by 15%, and AI skills now command a 23% wage premium (arXiv).
5. What This Means for Education
Here's what I’d humbly suggest what is important for Education and Training Institutions (read: Not Research Institutions):
Make skills visible – categorize and track them, not just credentials.
Teach to relevance – contextualize content with real-world applications.
Measure what matters – focus on outcomes, not just course completion.
Build ecosystems – partners, projects, and applied learning make skills stick.
If you're a learner, job-seeker, here's what I'd humbly suggest:
Take assessments to identify your skills – both technical and transferable skills you’ve developed, inside and outside formal education.
Contextualize your learning – connect what you study to real-world problems, projects, or industries you care about.
Track your progress – measure your growth through portfolios, challenges, and assessments
Seek applied opportunities – internships, hackathons, community projects, and freelance gigs
Adopt a skills-first mindset – think in terms of capabilities you can offer, not just the title on your degree.
Get real feedback on your blindspots - it doesn't help to have people just giving positive feedback.
