A World Economic Forum study highlights that over a billion people globally will need reskilling to keep up with the evolving demands of the workforce by 2030. To help organizations and individuals successfully navigate through the recession, Pearson has conducted a study of the key skills that employers are looking for and training.

Using an analysis of more than 21 million job ads globally, Pearson's Skills Snapshot identifies today's new 'power skills' – the capabilities now powering the world's economy and individual careers. The analysis shows that while technical capabilities remain essentially crucial for many roles, employers highly prize human skills such as collaboration, communication, and leadership.

According to Pearson's Skills ^[2]Outlook^[3], the five skills that today's employers look for the most are all human skills:

• Communication
• Customer Focus
• Leadership
• Attention to Detail
• Collaboration

• Collaboration
• Customer Focus
• Personal Learning
• Achievement Focus
• Cultural and Social Intelligence

"Although technical skills are increasingly high in demand, technological advancement can often render these skills obsolete or unique to specific job scopes. For instance, the Great Recession of 2008 brought about a major shift in skill requirements for that time. Skills such as analysis and data savviness became high in demand and those companies invested time and resources into upskilling or rehiring. Even in tech roles, human skills allow employees to be agile and adaptable in their learning," continued Dr George.

Pearson also emphasised the relevance of Power Skills to the Southeast Asian market. In fast-paced markets like Singapore, personal learning and achievement focus help employees differentiate themselves from the rest. Additionally, cross-border and intraregional collaboration is a common part of job scopes, especially in multinational corporations. Collaboration skills as well as Cultural and Social Intelligence help employees thrive in such situations.

The ability to learn is proving to be a critical skill for career and workplace growth. With a strong foundation in enterprise and workplace learning, Pearson is well-positioned to help people and businesses grow the skills they need for today's economy.

As the world's leading learning company, Pearson engages in regular studies about current trends and needs of the job market. By providing this data and the appropriate learning tools to key groups like educators, employers, and even governments, Pearson is helping to close the skill gap. Pearson helps to foster and support soft skills through integrated assessments and its Skills Accelerator Program by bringing skills training to real-life scenarios.

We would be happy to extend an interview with Dr Richard George to share more about Pearson's Skills Outlook.

For more information, please visit https://plc.pearson.com/en-GB/insights/pearson-skills-outlook-powerskills^[4].

Hashtag: #Pearson

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

References

1. ^{^} Media OutReach (www.media-outreach.com)
2. ^{^} Pearson's Skills (plc.pearson.com)
3. ^{^} Outlook (plc.pearson.com)
4. ^{^} ttps://plc.pearson.com/en-GB/insights/pearson-skills-outlook-powerskills (plc.pearson.com)