Institute For The Future

Future Skills: Update + Literature Review

Amid reports of robotic factories and algorithmic assistants replacing humans on the job, what will work or jobs look like in the future? Coupled with the changing landscape where working, learning, and living are merging, what skills will we need to be successful and productive contributors to society?

In 2011, IFTF started exploring the key work skills that people would need over a ten-year horizon in our highly-popular Future Work Skills 2020 report. Five years later, we partnered with the ACT Foundation and Joyce Foundation to further refine and validate those skills and competencies; this time, to include within the National Network of Business and Industry Association’s Common Employability Skills framework. This Future Skills report is a comprehensive literature review that highlights eleven future skills. Each skill includes a definition and attributes, ways for acquisition and development, and means for assessment and evaluation.