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What skills do employers need most in 2023?

27 Jan 2023

Many people are now finding themselves in more tech-driven work environments where they need to reskill and upskill to fulfil the needs of their job role and stay relevant within the labour market.

These are the top skills that we think employers will need and be looking for in the upcoming year, based on insight from our labour insights tool. 

Hard skills

Computer programming
Our labour insights tool shows that ‘Software Developer/Engineer’ is the job title that has been advertised most by employers since November, and certainly there is a widespread shortage of computer programming skills currently. In fact, a recent poll of 14,000 developers and tech employers found that nearly half of them are struggling to fill tech roles.

With the ever-growing importance of technology globally and it being vital in creating more efficient systems, it’s an essential skill for most businesses.

Data literacy
More employers are looking towards designing, building, and implementing data strategies and solutions. According to Forbes, 46% of businesses recruiting for roles requiring data analysis and analytics skills have struggled to do so. A national skills shortage means proficiency in this area will be highly valued by employers. 

If you want to get a head start, there’s some free Microsoft and Google Academy courses you can do to brush up on your data skills such as Microsoft Excel and Google Analytics.

Finance and accounting
‘Finance’, ‘accounting’ and ‘auditing’ are three of the top skills that have been mentioned most in recent job adverts, according to Ingeus’ labour insights tool. Indeed, an aptitude for maths and numbers is a broad skill that’s essential to many different job roles. It’s important to ensure you have basic maths knowledge and qualifications. 

Marketing, communications and business development
Our labour insights findings concluded that ‘marketing’ has been mentioned as one of the top skills required by employers in job adverts since November, closely followed by ‘communications’ and ‘business development’.

Advances in technology and other societal changes have meant that the wants and needs of consumers has changed recently, which need to be further understood by companies. Marketing messaging needs to be stronger and more targeted. A more tech and data-driven landscape has also driven the need for more digital marketing skills, such as SEO and paid advertising. 

Video editing and social media
The rise of TikTok has meant that the way people consume content has changed over the last several years, with the popularity of video content spanning to various social platforms. In 2022, 87% of marketers claimed that video gives them a positive return on investment (ROI), compared to 33% in 2015. 

This means that the ability to capture and edit videos is a skill that’s suddenly become very valuable to businesses, and companies need employees that can keep up to date with the fast pace of social media. The best way to improve your video editing skills is having a play around on the different social platforms, and there’s free social media marketing courses on websites such as Hubspot.

Soft skills

Soft skills are non-technical, work-related skills. They are character traits that impact how you interact with colleagues, solve problems, and manage your work.

Adaptability to change 
The labour market skills shortage means that many employers will need to upskill and reskill their current workforce so that they can better fulfil the needs of the company.

It’s important that employees are prepared to adapt to changes in the workplace and be quick learners, such as picking up new tools and software that they may need to use as part of reskilling and upskilling.

Strong leadership
Leadership is a hot topic right now and is a skill, according to our labour insights tool, that was mentioned very regularly in job adverts over the last couple of months. Leaders are so important as these are the people who motivate and inspire teams at a time where burnout is on the rise and engagement at work is at its lowest in years. According to the Gallup State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report, the percentage of actively engaged employees has decreased by 12% in the last decade. 

Leaders and managers are also largely responsible for connecting colleagues with the company culture – 60% of employees say their direct manager is the primary mode for this. When employees aren’t engaged with the company culture, this could pose a whole host of issues for businesses, including unproductive staff and decreased company revenue. 

Self-motivation
In an era of ‘quiet-quitting’ and where 85% of people aren’t actively engaged at work, employers will be looking to employee people who are self-motivated and driven. 

Of course, lack of employee engagement is sometimes due to a disconnect between leaders and company culture, and if you’re struggling to feel engaged in your job, read our blog on finding fulfilment at work. 

For employers, we have lots of great content from our employment experts on how to improve workplace culture. Take a look at one of our blogs from CEO of Employment services, Julie Graham, who gives her take on how to build a better culture through collaboration and community. 

Integrity and empathy
Forbes identified that workplace wellbeing is going to be a top priority for employers in 2023. Statistics show that people are suffering with poor mental health at work more than ever before -this is partly because people are experiencing more burnout when working remotely. In fact, according to MIND Mental health charity, 69% of employees working remotely are experiencing typical burnout symptoms.

It's more important than ever that employees can show empathy towards themselves and colleagues who may be are struggling. Take a look at our blog on recognising symptoms of burnout in yourself and others. 

Creativity 
An evolving labour market calls for new, creative ways of thinking so that companies can generate innovative ideas and solutions to problems. 

With rapid changes in work environments and technology, new and unforeseen issues are highly likely to happen in 2023. For example, problems with implementing new technology-based processes. 

Creativity at work also encourages better team working and inspires employees to collaborate with one another, something that is often harder to achieve due to the rise of hybrid and remote working.


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