Skills needed for average US job evolving
More than one-third of the top 20 skills needed to get an average job in the United States (US) has changed between 2016 to 2021 — with one in five skills becoming an entirely new requirement — said consulting company Boston Consulting Group, and research firms Emsi Burning Glass and The Burning Glass Institute.
According to their joint report, an accelerated pace has been detected as nearly three-quarters of jobs changed more from 2019 through 2021 than from 2016 through 2018.
BCG Managing Director and Senior Partner Jens Baier said, “Company leaders — even HR and recruiting leaders — may not even realize how profoundly and rapidly the jobs in their industry are evolving since not every job is disrupted to the same degree, at the same rate or in the same way,”
Baier added that the challenge for employers and employees now is to “keep up — or, better yet, to get ahead” of the trends in the job market.
The report also shared that several sectors have changed their required skills more than others. This includes finance, design, media, writing, business management and operations, HR, and IT.
Emsi Burning Glass Chief Economist and Executive VP Bledi Taska added that this report is “hard evidence of an important trend” where employees have to upskill to get ahead in their industries continuously.
