The Skills You Need Now to Stay Ahead in the Future of Work

Employers across New Zealand are already raising the alarm on skill shortages. Here’s why adaptability could be your most important investment.

We often imagine the “future of work” as something distant. The truth is, the signals about where work is heading are already here. They show up in the skills employers say they cannot find, in shortages that make headlines and in the quiet but steady shifts in how roles are being shaped. These signals matter because they tell us not just what the labour market looks like now but what it will reward in the years to come.

Employers across New Zealand are already raising the alarm. The Hays Skills Report 2025 notes

“91% of hiring managers identify skills scarcity as their top challenge, highlighting the urgent need for proactive workforce planning and upskilling strategies.”

This is a powerful reminder that capability, not just experience, is becoming the differentiator. The conversation is no longer about whether skills are important but which skills can actually move careers forward. In some areas the shortages are stark. Engineering New Zealand’s Long-Term Skills Action Plan 2025 makes the case clearly:

“We need between 1,500 and 2,300 additional engineers each year to meet industry demands and support ongoing economic growth.”

Trades and technical skills are also under pressure. Housing, infrastructure and the green transition are driving demand that the current workforce cannot meet. This creates opportunities for those willing to invest in practical technical pathways that are often overlooked.

At the same time professional roles are shifting. Accountancy, HR, procurement, IT and logistics are all areas where employers struggle to hire. It is not just the technical side. Many employers report gaps in critical thinking, leadership and communication. These are not “soft” skills in the optional sense, they are central to how organisations adapt and thrive.

Globally the pace of change reinforces this message.

“Employers expect 39% of the key skills required in the job market will change by 2030. Creative thinking and resilience are rising in importance alongside flexibility and agility.”

– World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2025

When nearly four in ten skills are expected to shift it tells us that standing still is not an option. What carried you five years ago may not carry you through the next five. So which skills are worth building?

Future Skills Employers Can’t Afford to Ignore

From the evidence several stand out:

• Digital literacy – comfort with data, AI and automation

• Critical thinking and problem solving – the ability to navigate complex challenges without ready-made answers

• Communication and collaboration – influencing, listening and building trust

• Adaptability and learning agility – picking up new tools and approaches quickly

• Regulation and ethics awareness – from sustainability to privacy, skills linked to responsibility

• Trades and technical expertise – still in high demand from engineering to construction

• Supply chain and logistics capability – critical in a disrupted and interconnected economy

These are not buzzwords. They are the exact areas employers highlight when they say they cannot find enough talent.

How to Build Career Resilience in the Future of Work

The question is not whether to act but how. The temptation is to try to cover everything at once but the more effective path is to choose one area and go deeper. This could mean taking a six-week online course in data analysis, volunteering to manage a project at work or learning more about compliance in your field.

The part often overlooked is how you make that growth visible. Employers are not only looking for finished experts, they value curiosity, initiative and the willingness to adapt. Updating your CV, sharing what you are learning on LinkedIn or simply talking about the skills you are building can all make a difference.

The future of work will not arrive in a single moment. It is unfolding now in the shortages we can see and in the shifts already happening across industries. The lesson is simple: it is not about predicting what comes next but about staying ready to respond. That is the heart of future-proofing. Not prediction but adaptability. Not certainty but momentum. So instead of asking what will work look like in ten years, the more useful question is:

What skill am I building today that will still matter in three years?

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Thanks for reading. My hope with each edition is to create space to pause, reflect and rethink how we work. If this sparked something for you, I’d love if you shared it with someone who might need to hear it. You can always connect with me at sonja@pickapath.co.nz or find more at pickapath.co.nz.