Future Proofing: Why Human Skills Still Matter
The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 found that nearly half of the workforce's skills will be disrupted over the next five years.
Employers estimate that, out of every 100 workers, 29 will be upskilled in their current roles and another 19 will be redeployed into new jobs. So if you’re helping to future-proof your organization, you’re giving some good thought to which skills to focus on and how to build them. Read the report here: https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025.
Durable human skills remain critical to higher performance today and to future-proofing organizations
I don’t know about you, but I’m more comfortable when there’s data to support decisions about upskilling. So, this blog draws on academic data and peer-reviewed research to inform decisions about which skills matter most. And it speaks to ways to balance competing priorities, such as budget and time constraints.
With all that in mind, here’s why practice-based learning should play a role in your future-proofing strategy.
Human Skills on the Rise
The same report highlights that while technical skills like AI, networks, and technological literacy are the fastest-rising, human skills like creative thinking, resilience, curiosity, and leadership are increasing, too.
And, when employers were asked which skills are core to their workforce today, the top five were all human: analytical thinking; resilience, flexibility and agility; leadership and social influence; creative thinking; and motivation and self-awareness.
The data is clear: durable human skills remain critical to higher performance today and to future-proofing organizations. Demographic shifts, such as ageing workforces and multi-generational teams, are heightening demand for communication, leadership, and adaptability across roles.
However, even as the demand for building essential skills increases, organizations face shrinking time and resources for training. HR and learning professionals must find ways to balance these constraints with the urgent need to upskill and reskill employees. One practical approach is deliberate practice.
Practice: A Proven Solution for Efficient Human Skill Building
Research by K. Anders Ericsson shows that deliberate practice – focused, structured, feedback-rich repetition – is one of the most efficient ways to develop complex, trainable skills such as leadership, influence, and resilience.
At Practica Learning, we use human and AI-enabled deliberate practice to help organizations build these durable capabilities faster and with measurable impact. If you'd like to experience it, I'd be happy to offer a complimentary, customized demo —for example, on modelling resilience, social influence skills, or leading change.
Let's talk: https://calendly.com/dougrobertson/30-minute-zoom
Doug Robertson
