This Is the No. 1 Skill You Must Master to Succeed at Work in 2024, According to a Tech CEO Looking for a new career? Here's how to become an in-demand candidate anywhere.
By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas
Key Takeaways
- Soft skills like creativity and problem-solving are increasingly in demand, but one hard skill will emerge as the most important in 2024.
- Both employees and employers must actively engage in upskilling and learning opportunities to stay competitive and ensure mutual growth.
If you want to level up at work, you might be wondering what will make you the most competitive in 2024's job market.
The professional world is crowded and changing fast, and only candidates equipped with the right combination of hard skills — those learned through education or experience — and soft skills — those personal attributes that help someone work well with others — will stand out.
Related: The Skills Gap Is Rapidly Widening — Here's What We Must Do To Close It.
According to John Baker, CEO of edtech company D2L, the top hard skill people will need to master in 2024 is artificial intelligence, which should be leveraged as a productivity tool.
"Becoming more adept at knowing how and when AI tools can be useful to you, make you better at your craft and help you better support others, whether inside your organization or externally," Baker tells Entrepreneur.
When it comes to soft skills — which Baker calls "durable skills" — there are several that should be on your radar, including creative critical thinking, entrepreneurship and problem-solving, the CEO says.
"These skills are key for every role, no matter where you work, as organizations and communities grapple with new and complex challenges together," Baker explains.
It's up to workers to seek out learning opportunities and courses that support the skills they need for a potential pivot and next step in their careers, Baker says. But employers must be prepared to do the same.
"[Employers should provide] upskilling courses that are going to best prepare their employees for personal and professional growth, and that are scalable, which is to say that learning needs to be worthwhile for both employer and employee, meaning both purposeful and cost-effective," Baker says.
Related: Want to Survive In Today's Competitive Job Market? Improve Your Skills
Baker also noted that his company's "D2L for Business" offering "makes it easier to execute a learning strategy with relevant and meaningful metrics, skills-aligned courses from top institutions and measurable insights to ensure ROI."
