Future Skills: What the Big Players Agree On – and How to Put It into Practice

In this article, we answer two key questions:

The Future Skills Framework

To answer the first question, we analyzed major recent studies from McKinsey, the World Economic Forum, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Stepstone. We then consolidated their findings into a comprehensive Future Skills Framework. Despite variations in terminology, there is strong consensus on the key categories of future skills, even if individual competencies are named differently.

One striking takeaway: Interpersonal and intrapersonal skills remain the foundation for future success—despite all the advancements in digital technology. Combined with learning and problem-solving skills, these competencies are just as critical today as they were yesterday—and will continue to be in the future.

Two additional clusters—Learning & Problem-Solving and Digital Skills—reflect the accelerating digital transformation highlighted in the studies. However, our experience shows that these skills are largely enabled by the first three clusters.

Practical Application in Talent Identification, Recruiting, and Skill-Based Organizations

Organizations that want to integrate future skills into their selection and development processes can use the framework to ensure they cover all relevant areas. Personality assessments provide a scientifically sound method for capturing these competencies. Personality reliably influences a person’s natural work behavior. Individuals who score highly in the first three skill clusters are well-equipped to acquire the skills of the future—many of which we cannot yet predict.

Using a database of nearly 50,000 individuals from over 20 industries, Hogan Assessments has developed a model that derives 62 competencies from personality traits. These include future-critical skills like teamwork, decision-making, flexibility, and self-development.

This approach allows recruitment to shift toward data- and competency-based decision-making, helping companies identify talent that can meet not only today’s challenges but also tomorrow’s learning needs. By emphasizing personality traits, organizations can expand their talent pools beyond traditional candidate profiles. For example, consulting firms are increasingly considering candidates from industry backgrounds rather than exclusively hiring from other consultancies. While these industry professionals may not yet have consulting-specific skills, they can quickly acquire them in training programs thanks to their relevant personality traits.

On the path to becoming a skill-based organization, this personality-driven approach also enhances internal mobility by opening new career opportunities for employees from different backgrounds. Understanding employees' specific competencies enables strategic skill and talent management. Individuals can be placed and developed in roles that match their strengths—personalized and need-based rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach or relying solely on past experience.

Outlook

The Future Skills Framework highlights that HR has long focused on skills that will remain relevant in the future. At the same time, a personality-based approach to identifying, predicting, and developing future skills enables organizations to adapt to changing talent demands. The distinctions between skills, competencies, personality traits, and experience—often blurred in research and practice—are worth refining. Organizations that make these distinctions explicit can achieve more precise, cost-effective talent selection, internal mobility, and development strategies.

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