In-demand job skills in a post-pandemic world

According to recruitment experts, the best way to prepare for a post-pandemic world is to gain information technology (IT) skills. We've already seen how critical IT skills were during lockdown, when companies needed to adapt quickly to the new world order of employees working from home.

The World Economic Forum estimated that 54 per cent of all employees will require ‘significant’ reskilling by 2022 to keep up with the digital revolution. The coronavirus crisis has fuelled this even further with a higher reliance on technology, meaning that desirable skills are changing every day. 

Technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, virtual reality, machine learning, cloud computing, software development and data analytics will make businesses more resilient to future pandemics, and anyone that can help companies exploit these technologies will be in a great position.

Although it’s unlikely that you’ll need to know every system or platform, demonstrating a solid working knowledge of IT tools will certainly help propel your job profile above the rest.

From online home-schooling and remote working to telemedicine, digital skills have been at the forefront of everything during the coronavirus pandemic. Consumers also moved to digital channels, and organisations are now realising the importance of digitally enhanced offerings and interactions.

This digital transformation has resulted in a surge in demand for digital marketing specialists in areas such as e-commerce, content creation, social media marketing, search engine optimisation and paid search; all of which have been a lifeline for businesses during the pandemic.

The ability to communicate effectively has always been an important skill. Now, the ability to communicate effectively using different online digital technologies and platforms like ZOOM, Microsoft Teams and Slack is even more important to be an effective remote worker.

As more and more people continue to work from home, job candidates need to have the ability to communicate using multiple channels and platforms including video conferencing, phone and written communications.

While skills like adaptability and creativity have always been valued in the workplace, they are more important now than ever before. During the pandemic, we saw the importance of these skills; and for many companies it was pivot or perish.

Businesses that were able to quickly come up with innovative ways to deliver their services virtually or shift to new products were better able to weather the storm during the COVID crisis.  

To succeed in the post-pandemic world, you will need to be innovative and flexible to the ever-evolving workplace and be able to upskill and refresh your skills on an ongoing basis. 

Emotional intelligence is the capacity to relate to others, identify and manage your own and others’ emotions as well as recognise your own strengths and weaknesses. At times when people feel uncertain about the future, interpersonal relationships and connecting with people on an emotional level is a particularly important skill.

Whether it’s to reassure others during stressful times, adapt workloads in response to the struggles of those around you, or generally keep an open chain of communication, trust, and empathy with your team – emotional intelligence is guaranteed to help you get ahead in a post-pandemic world. 

With ‘remote working’ becoming the norm post-COVID, security has arguably never been more important as employees access sensitive applications from home or as more businesses move their data off-premise and into the cloud.

As more people work remotely, and more businesses shift their operations online, cybersecurity is another field that will continue to be in-demand in the months and years ahead.