September 2022
Data from: Skills Evolution Blog
Published by: Magdalena Sikora

There's a new buzzword that's changing the way employers reward, promote, and hire. It's SKILLS. Instead of who you know or where did you go to school, the question is, what can candidates do?

Now is a more important time than ever for employees to be keeping skills up to date and learning new ones as the world of work evolves. Globally, members are adding skills to their LinkedIn Learning Profiles like never before:

● In 2021 alone, 286 million skills were added
● 45% of hirers on LinkedIn explicitly use skills data to fill their roles on LinkedIn, up 13% year on year

Skill sets for jobs will shift, and new ones emerge, but learning trending skills can ensure access to opportunities. According to LinkedIn data, there are skills that can help employees future-proof their careers.

LinkedIn's unique view across 850+ million members along with millions of job posts around the world show how skills have changed over time and the most important skills to have right now. Just how much and how fast have skill sets changed over the years?

● Globally, skill sets for jobs have changed by around 25% since 2015 and are expected to change by 41% by 2025
● In Australia skill sets for jobs have changed by around 25% since 2015 and are expected to change by 44% by 2025

Top skills in Australia

We compared the top skills Australian professionals had in 2015 and identified the new skills that rose to the top in 2021. Here are the top skills across the broad Australian talent market that members added to their LinkedIn profiles, to highlight where employees should be focusing on learning.

We’ve mapped the skills to the specific LinkedIn Learning courses and unlocked them to learn for free until September 30, 2022.

Top soft skills professionals added to their profiles

1.    Customer Service - Serving Customers in a Continuously Changing World with David Brownlee
2.    Time Management - Time Management Fundamentals with Dave Crenshaw
3.    Communication - Unlocking Authentic Communication in a Culturally-Diverse Workplace with

4.    Problem Solving - Smart Thinking: Overcoming Complexity with Richard Gerver
5.    Interpersonal Skills - Refresh Your Workplace Social Skills with Marielle Legair
6.    Leadership - Leadership Tips, Tactics and Advice with Elizabeth (McLeod) Lotardo and Lisa Earle McLeod

Top hard skills professionals added to their profiles

1.    Business Development - Business Development: Strategic Planning with Meridith Powell
2.    Sales - Asking Great Sales Questions with Jeff Bloomfield
3.    Business Strategy - Business Analysis for Busy Professionals with Christina Charenkova
4.    Marketing - Marketing Foundations: The Marketing Funnel with Brad Batesole

Plus, see how skills have changed across specific industries in Australia and New Zealand in LinkedIn’s Future of Skills Report.

Soft skills on the rise

While hard skills can help you get the attention of a recruiter for a particular role, soft skills are in growing demand across industries. Communication skills, for example, are always the most in-demand skills for employers, according to LinkedIn data. In fact, 45% of all LinkedIn Premium jobs posted within the past 3 months mention the importance of communication skills. From your colleagues' perspective, more than 3 in 5 (61%) of professionals say soft skills in the workplace are just as important as hard skills.

Since the pandemic, these 'people skills', have become more powerful than ever. Some even call soft skills, "the currency of the future workplace".

Hard skills, however, are still the skills employers tend to use to decide whether to call you in for an interview. They are also the skills most affected by the constant rapid evolution of technology. Fast Company Reports that the share of highly skilled jobs has increased by 25% in the last 20 years and more than a billion jobs worldwide will be transformed in the next decade. Change is inevitable and new hard skills will continue to emerge as the workforce evolves.

Top Skills Across Industries Globally

The skills unique in specific industries are the ones that are transferable to any company or product. These are the skills that make employees experts in their field as a marketer, financial analyst or accountant, project manager, business professional, IT professional, engineer, or sales professional.

We’ve surfaced the top skills across these industries to show what skills professionals are focusing on to grow their careers or where candidates can be upskilling or reskilling to plot a path toward a role change. We’ve unlocked the courses to learn the skills for free until September 30, 2022. 

Marketing

The top 10 skills for marketing professionals changed by 50% since 2015.

With the rise of hybrid work, almost every aspect of marketing requires a background in digital marketing. It's no surprise then that today, Digital Marketing is the #1 skill marketers list on their LinkedIn profiles. In a world where attention spans are getting shorter and there are more content types and content creators than ever. These macro trends correlate with skills like SEO, Content Marketing, and Google Analytics rising in the ranks of must-have skills for marketers today.

Check out the ways marketing skills have shifted and then learn the skills to future-proof your career.  

Learn the top skills in marketing:

1.    Digital Marketing - Digital Marketing Foundations with Brad Batesole
2.    Social Media Marketing - Social Media Marketing: Strategy and Optimization with Martin Waxman
3.    Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - Marketing Tools: SEO with Sam Dey
4.    Marketing Strategy - Create a Go-to-Market Plan with Deirdre Breakenridge
5.    Adobe Photoshop - Photoshop 2022 Essential Training with Julieanne Kost
6.    Email Marketing - Email Marketing: Strategy and Optimization with Virginia O'Connor
7.    Content Marketing - Content Creation: Strategy and Tools with Joanna Yung
8.    Advertising - Advertising on Facebook with Megan Adams
9.    Google Analytics - Advanced Google Analytics 4 (GA4) with Dana DiTomaso
10.  Corporate Communications - Communication within Teams with Daisy Lovelace

Project Management

The top 10 skills for project managers have changed by 70% since 2015.

Few teams can function without a project manager in seat to help them adapt to the whirlwind changes of the past few years. Thanks to the skill set shifts prior to the pandemic, this group was ready to step up and help businesses navigate massive change and uncertainty.

The advent of Agile Project Management, Agile Methodologies, and Scrum vastly changed the landscape of project management. Today, the majority of marketers have these skills listed on their profiles. 

Check out the ways project management skills have shifted and then learn the skills to future-proof your career. 

Learn the top skills in project management:

1.    Agile Project Management - Agile at Work: Planning with Agile User Stories with Doug Rose
2.    Agile Methodologies - Agile Development Practices with Harrison Ferrone
3.    Scrum - Cert Prep: Scrum Master with Kelley O'Connell
4.    Microsoft Project - Agile Project Management with Microsoft Project with Bonnie Biafore
5.    Project Management Office (PMO) - What Is a PMO? with Andy Jordan
6.    Project Planning - Project Management Foundations: Schedules with Bonnie Biafore
7.    Project Coordination - Project Management Simplified with Chris Croft
8.    Engineering - Python for Engineers and Scientists with Michele Vallisneri
9.    Management - Be the Manager People Won't Leave with Laurie Ruettimann
10.  PMO Set-up - Setting Up a PMO with Hussain Bandukwala

IT

The top 10 skills for IT professionals have changed by 70% since 2015.

IT pros are familiar with rapid change, but the last few years were disruptive even for these experts. Increasing demands for digital transformation across the business and growing cybersecurity and data privacy threats have correlated in big changes for the industry.

The new skills in IT show the massive changes in technology available from Network Administration to Microsoft Azure to Python.

Check out the ways IT skills have shifted and then learn the skills to future-proof your career.

Learn the top skills in IT:

1.    Network Administration - Networking Foundations: Networking Basics with Kevin Wallace
2.    Windows Server - Windows Server 2022 Essential Training with Robert McMillen
3.    SQL - Top Five Things to Know in SQL with Walter Shields
4.    Active Directory - Azure Active Directory: Basics with Kunal D Mehta
5.    Microsoft Azure - Azure Administration Essential Training with David Elfassy
6.    Agile Methodologies - Agile Development Practices with Harrison Ferrone
7.    Python (Programming Language) - Python Essential Training with Ryan Mitchell
8.    Technical Support - Microsoft 365 for Administrators: Supporting Users with Sharon Bennett
9.    Amazon Web Services (AWS) - AWS Essential Training for Architects with Jeff Winesett
10.  System Administration - Learning Linux Command Line with Scott Simpson

Engineering

The top 10 skills for engineers have changed by 70% since 2015.

Engineers are no stranger to a growth mindset. They're always ready to learn something new to help their careers, products, and customers. It's no surprise that the engineering top skills list is chalk full of new technologies that have taken the main stage over the past few years.

New to the list are design software skills like SOLIDWORKS as well as libraries like React.js and Git.

AutoCAD moved from #4 to #1 over the years, demonstrating its rise in importance over time.

Check out the ways engineering skills have shifted and then learn the skills to future-proof your career.

Learn the top skills in Engineering:

1.    AutoCAD - AutoCAD 2022 Essential Training with Shaun Bryant
2.    JavaScript - JavaScript as a Second Language with Ray Villalobos
3.    Java - Java 17 Essential Training: Objects and APIs with Angie Jones
4.    SOLIDWORKS - SOLIDWORKS 2022 Essential Training with Gabriel Corbett
5.    React.js - React.js Code Challenges with Ali Spittel
6.    Git - Git from Scratch with Morten Rand-Hendriksen
7.    Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) - Cutting-Edge CSS with Morten Rand-Hendriksen
8.    Mechanical Engineering - NX Class A Surfacing with Steven Marjieh
9.    Test Automation - Test Automation Foundations with Meghan Lewis
10.  C (Programming Language) - C for Embedded Applications with Eduardo Corpeno

Finance and Accounting

The top 10 skills for finance and accounting professionals have changed by 40% since 2015.

Finance and accounting professionals are no strangers to learning new skills. Changes in technology, cybersecurity, and the need to keep up with new regulations makes this group poised to invest in making their careers future-proof.

Based on the skill set shifts over the past few years, we see Financial Accounting, Financial Analysis, and Financial Reporting continue to be more important than ever, as they continue to be the top 3 skills among finance and accounting professionals. While these are enduring skills, other skills like Bank Reconciliation, Financial Planning, and Journal Entries could be ones that round out your skill set.

Check out the ways finance and accounting skills have shifted and then learn the skills to future-proof your career.

Learn the top skills in finance and accounting:

1.    Financial Accounting - Lean Accounting Foundations with Joshua Rischin
2.    Financial Analysis - Corporate Financial Statement Analysis with Earl Kay Stice
3.    Financial Reporting - Financial Modeling and Forecasting Financial Statements with Jim Stice
4.    Accounts Payable - SAP Accounts Payable Boot Camp with Michael Management Licensor
5.    Account Reconciliation - Accounting Foundations: Understanding the GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) with Denise Probert
6.    Bank Reconciliation - QuickBooks: Advanced Bookkeeping Techniques with Bonnie Biafore
7.    Accounts Receivable (AR) - SAP Accounts Receivable Boot Camp with Michael Management Licensor
8.    Financial Planning - Finance Strategies for Business Leaders with Jason Schenker
9.    Journal Entries - Advanced Bookkeeping Techniques with Earl Kay Stice
10.  Tax - Finance Foundations: Income Taxes with Earl Kay Stice & Jim Stice

Sales

The top 10 skills for sales professionals have changed by 60% since 2015.

Sales professionals know that hitting quota depends on far more than their sales process. Particularly since the pandemic, sales requires authentic connection between customers and team members and the ability to adapt to change. As a result, sales professionals are highlighting communication and problem solving skills on their profiles far more than they did several years ago, while skills like 'negotiation' fall towards the bottom of the list. Sales professionals have also picked up new skills as technology evolves like Account Management, Direct Sales, Sales Process, and Customer Experience.

Learn the top sales skills to future-proof your career:

1.    Sales Management - Sales Management Foundations with Drew Boyd
2.    Customer Service - Serving Customers in a Continuously Changing World with David Brownlee
3.    Business Development - Business Development: Strategic Planning with Meridith Powell
4.    Account Management - Account Management: Maintaining Relationships with Miles Croft
5.    Direct Sales - Sales: Business to Consumer Online Sales with Jeff Bloomfield
6.    Sales Process - Managing Your Sales Process with Jeff Bloomfield
7.    Sales Operations - Sales Operations with Brian Frank
8.    Communication - Communication within Teams with Daisy Lovelace 
9.    Problem Solving - The Secret to Better Decisions: Stop Hoarding Chips with Seth Godin
10.  Customer Experience - Serving Customers in a Continuously Changing World with David Brownlee