A Changing Frontier

Millions of graduates will walk across the stage this spring – diplomas in hand, ready to face a world transformed by artificial intelligence and automation. But many will soon discover that knowledge alone doesn’t equip them to navigate a job interview, collaborate on a diverse team, or adapt to constant change. The gap isn’t about what they know; it’s about durable skills. And it’s a gap we can close.

The World Economic Forum warns that employers expect 39% of workers’ core skills to change by 2030, and that 59% of workers will need reskilling by then. Lightcast research suggests the pace is even faster: one-third of required job skills have shifted between 2021 and 2024. So, which skills endure when technology evolves at breakneck speed? And how can learning systems cultivate them?

The answer lies in what are often dismissed as “soft” skills but are, in fact, our human advantage. These durable skills – communication, collaboration, critical thinking, adaptability – are transferable across jobs and life stages, and they are increasingly the most sought after by employers. A recent analysis found that eight of the top ten most in-demand skills in job postings are durable skills, underscoring their central role in preparing young people to flourish.

The Human Edge: Beyond Technical Know-How

Scroll through job postings today, and you might be surprised by what employers seek. In an analysis of 75 million job ads, 76% demanded at least one durable skill, and 47% asked for three or more. Communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, adaptability, creativity, empathy, and leadership appear far more often than programming languages or machine tools. Employers seek durable skills nearly four times more often than technical skills.

Why? Because technology can perform calculations and recognize patterns, but only humans can interpret context, navigate ambiguity, build trust, and exercise judgment.

Even the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics now highlights these capabilities. Its latest framework identifies 17 broad categories – from adaptability and creativity to leadership and communication – signaling that human capacity is as vital to the future workforce as technical prowess.

Durable skills also underpin civic health. As AI curates our information and interactions, individuals need critical thinking and media literacy to discern fact from misinformation. Empathy and collaboration help diverse teams bridge differences and work across borders. Durable skills are not only the currency of the labor market, they are also the foundation of democracy and human flourishing.

A New Skills Economy: Building Clarity and Trust

Recognizing the importance of durable skills, employers are shifting from degree-based to skills-based hiring. Yet this transition has created a crowded marketplace of micro-credentials and digital badges of varying quality. Without a shared standard, employers struggle to interpret what credentials mean, learners accumulate certificates that may not translate into opportunities, and educators lack guidance on which skills matter most.

To make durable skills meaningful, we need trusted, transparent signals and employer-validated assessments that accurately reflect real-world competencies. When educators and employers align on these measures, learners gain credentials that carry weight and employers gain confidence that those credentials reflect readiness.

Rethinking Learning Systems

Embed Durable Skills Across the Curriculum
Teaching durable skills isn’t about adding another class called “Communication 101.” It’s about weaving human capacities into every subject and learning experience.

In North Carolina, the Portrait of a Graduate framework defines six durable skills and outlines performance levels from “approaching expectations” to “exceeding expectations.” When teachers use such rubrics, they can assess collaboration during a science project, evaluate critical thinking in a history debate, or recognize adaptability during a group presentation.

Project-based learning, debates, peer feedback, and real-world problem solving turn classrooms into rehearsal spaces for life. Clear expectations ensure that a third grader’s communication looks different from a tenth grader’s or a college student’s – while still building toward mastery.

Build Trusted, Employer-Validated Assessment
Learning systems must move beyond self-reported badges or generic surveys to performance-based, employer-validated assessments.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Career Readiness Competency Assessment, for example, evaluates skills on a four-point scale – from emerging knowledge to advanced application – using clear, reliable descriptors. Similarly, states and organizations are piloting collaborative projects, portfolios, and simulations co-designed with employers to demonstrate mastery.

For a durable-skills signal to work, employers must be co-architects of the rubric and its validation. Their endorsement ensures that a credential is more than a digital badge and reflects the competencies that truly drive success.

Foster Lifelong Learning and Human Flourishing
The rapid pace of change means that even the best education will be insufficient over a 40-year career. The World Economic Forum projects that 59% of workers will need reskilling, while Lightcast finds that job skills turn over by a third every three years. Yet only one-third of employees seeking new roles believe they have the skills required—and lack of time remains the biggest barrier to training.

Employers, policymakers, and philanthropists must invest in paid learning time, recognize prior learning, and support modular pathways that let workers upskill while earning.

Above all, learning systems must remember their ultimate purpose: human flourishing. Education is not merely a pipeline to fill jobs; it is an invitation to discover purpose, nurture curiosity, and build the capacity to contribute meaningfully.

As one high-school student put it, “I don’t just want a job – I want to know that what I’m good at matters.” Durable skills – communication, empathy, critical thinking – make that possible. They enable people to adapt to change while staying anchored in values and relationships. They ensure that as technology advances, our humanity advances with it.

Conclusion: Claiming the Human Advantage

The world of work is entering uncharted territory. Automation and AI will transform tasks we once thought uniquely human, but they also elevate the importance of our most human capacities.

Durable skills are not an add-on; they are the foundation of economic opportunity, democratic engagement, and personal well-being. By embedding them across curricula, validating them through trusted assessment, and supporting lifelong learning, we can build an ecosystem that serves both the economy and the individual.

In the Age of AI, our greatest differentiator will not be how quickly we code, but how deeply we connect, how imaginatively we solve problems, and how boldly we lead with compassion. If we invest in cultivating these human advantages, every learner will be prepared not just for the next job, but for a lifetime of contribution and meaning.