The Skills Companies Need Most in 2019 – And How to Learn Them

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It turns out that professionals are keenly interested in learning new skills (which makes us deliriously happy). And learning tends to spike in January, as people start the year focused on building new habits.

But here's the challenge: there are at least 50,000 professional skills in the world, according to LinkedIn data. 50,000!

If you're like us, you probably have time to learn a few skills this month. That begs the question: of those 50,000 skills you could potentially learn, which should you learn today to help you stand out all year?

To find out, we used exclusive LinkedIn data to determine the skills companies need most in 2019. These are the skills your boss and your boss's boss find most valuable, but have a hard time finding – and the skills that'll most help you better serve your clients and customers.

So consider this post your guide to the skills most worth learning in 2019.

The best part? We've unlocked LinkedIn Learning courses for all of January that teach these skills, so for a limited time you can learn them all for free.

The Soft Skills Companies Need Most in 2019
Strengthening a soft skill is one of the best investments you can make in your career, as they never go out of style. Plus, the rise of AI is only making soft skills increasingly important, as they are precisely the type of skills robots can't automate.

That's why 57% of senior leaders today say soft skills are more important than hard skills.

What are the soft skills companies are looking for most in 2019? They are:

    1. Creativity
Recommended Courses: Creativity Bootcamp, The Five-Step Creative Process, Creativity: Generate Ideas in Greater Quantity and Quality

Why it matters, in one sentence: While robots are great at optimizing old ideas, organizations most need creative employees who can conceive the solutions of tomorrow.

    2. Persuasion
Recommended Courses: Persuading Others, Becoming A Thought Leader, Advanced Consumer Behavior

Why it matters, in one sentence: Having a great product, a great platform or a great concept is one thing, but the key is persuading people to buy into it.

    3. Collaboration
Recommended Courses: Collaboration Principles and Process, Being an Effective Team Member, Business Collaboration in the Modern Workplace

Why it matters, in one sentence: As projects grow increasingly more complex and global in the age of AI, effective collaboration only grows more important.

    4. Adaptability
Recommended Courses: Strategic Agility, Developing Adaptable Employees, Developing Adaptability as a Manager

Why it matters, in one sentence: An adaptable mind is an essential tool for navigating today's ever-changing world, as yesterday's solutions won't solve tomorrow's problems.

    5. Time Management
Recommended Courses: Tony Schwartz on Managing Your Energy for Sustainable High Performance, Finding Your Time Management Style, Time Management for Managers

Why it matters, in one sentence: A timeless skill, mastering time management today will serve you the rest of your career.

The Hard Skills Companies Need Most in 2019
The skills on this list reflect the impact of our increasingly digital world. Yes, that means a spike in cloud computing and AI, but it also means a spike in improving that digital experience (i.e. UX Design, web development, etc.).

Digital is also giving new uses for skills – for example, there's increased demand for audio production. This was a skill formerly needed for radio production; today, it's used for producing podcasts and digital ads.

Here are the hard skills companies need most in 2019, according to LinkedIn data:

    1. Cloud Computing
Recommended Courses: Learning Cloud Computing: Networking, Learning Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Developers, AWS for Architects: Advanced Security

Why it matters, in one sentence: As the world rushes toward the cloud, companies are desperately searching for engineers who have the skills to accommodate this demand.

    2. Artificial Intelligence
Recommended Courses: Artificial Intelligence Foundations: Neural Networks, Artificial Intelligence Foundations: Machine Learning, Machine Learning and AI Foundations: Classification Modeling

Why it matters, in one sentence: Its official — the Age of AI is here.

    3. Analytical Reasoning
Recommended Courses: Making Decisions, Decision Making Strategies, Executive Decision Making

Why it matters, in one sentence: As they collect more data than ever before, companies are hungry for professionals who can make smart decisions based off of it.

    4. People Management
Recommended Courses: Motivating and Engaging Employees, Managing Team Conflict, Leading with Purpose

Why it matters, in one sentence: The world has changed from a "command-and-control" model toward leaders who can coach and empower, a difficult skillset few professionals possess.

    5. UX Design
Recommended Courses: UX Foundations: Multidevice Design, UX Design: 01 Overview, UX Research for Agile Teams

Why it matters, in one sentence: UX design is the key to making a digital world work for humans.

    6. Mobile Application Development
Recommended Courses: React Native Essential Training, iOS 12 Development Essential Training: 1 Fundamental, UI, and Architecture, iOS 12 Development Essential Training: 2 Web Content, Views, and Distribution

Why it matters, in one sentence: A skill that's been in-demand for several years as companies continue to design mobile-first platforms.

    7. Video Production
Recommended Courses: Foundations of Video: The Art of Editing, Video Foundations: Cameras and Shooting, Web Video for Business: Creating a Web Series

Why it matters, in one sentence: Demand for video production is spiking as video streaming represents 70 percent of all consumer Internet traffic.

    8. Sales Leadership
Recommended Courses: Sales Coaching, Sales Management Foundations, Sales: Data-Driven Sales Management

Why it matters, in one sentence: Sales is one of those skills that's always in-demand, and great sales leaders are only becoming harder and harder to find.

    9. Translation
Recommended Courses: Communicating Across Cultures, Developing Cross-Cultural Intelligence, InDesign: Multilingual Publishing Strategies

Why it matters, in one sentence: We are more connected globally than ever before, with translation skills breaking down one of the last remaining barriers: language.

    10. Audio Production
Recommended Courses: Digital Audio Foundations, Audio Recording Techniques, Tips & Tricks for Modern Producers

Why it matters, in one sentence: Similar to video, there's been a spike in interest in podcasts and other audio digital formats recently, leading to increased demand for this skill.

    11. Natural Language Processing
Recommended Courses: Artificial Intelligence Foundations: Thinking Machines, Creating Bots with the Microsoft Bot Framework, Part 2, NLP with Python for Machine Learning Essential Training

Why it matters, in one sentence: The technology behind Alexa and Google Home, everything from our cars to our light bulbs are now becoming voice-activated.

    12. Scientific Computing
Recommended Courses: Matlab Essential Training, Scala Essential Training for Data Science, Data Science Foundations: Python Scientific Stack

Why it matters, in one sentence: Scientific computing is generally used to solve problems with massive amounts of data to consider – a need as companies continue to collect more and more data.

    13. Game Development
Recommended Courses: 2D Game Design and Development Essential Training, Careers in the Game Industry, C# for Unity Game Development

Why it matters, in one sentence: In yet another sign of providing a better experience for digital users, the demand for those who can develop compelling online games remains strong.

    14. Social Media Marketing
Recommended Courses: B2B Foundations: Social Media Marketing, Marketing on Instagram, Social Media Marketing: Social CRM

Why it matters, in one sentence: Social media continues to be a popular way to communicate with others digitally, as new platforms disrupt the market.

    15. Animation
Recommended Courses: Animation Foundations: Fundamentals, Animation Foundations: Gesture, Maya 2018: Bifröst Fluids

Why it matters, in one sentence: No surprise to see animation on the list, considering the surge of video traffic and the increasing prevalence of the GIF.

    16. Business Analysis
Recommended Courses: Business Analysis Foundations, Agile Requirements Foundations, Learning Digital Business Analysis

Why it matters, in one sentence: Similar to data-driven decision making, more and more companies are relying on analysts to help them guide strategic investments.

    17. Journalism
Recommended Courses: Ninja Writing: The Four Levels of Writing Mastery, Shane Snow on Storytelling, Editing Mastery: How to Edit Writing to Perfection

Why it matters, in one sentence: Once a dwindling skill, journalism isn't just for journalists anymore as marketing and content teams alike vie for people who can tell compelling stories.

    18. Digital Marketing
Recommended Courses: Marketing Tips, Brand and Marketing Integration, Marketing Foundations: Growth Hacking

Why it matters, in one sentence: With the rise of digital, it's no surprise to see digital marketing as the most in-demand marketing skill on the list.

    19. Industrial Design
Recommended Courses: Industrial Design Foundations, Design Foundations: Prototyping and Manufacturing, Product Design: From Sketch to CAD

Why it matters, in one sentence: The demand for those who can design something that is both practical and eloquent will never go away.

    20. Competitive Strategies
Recommended Courses: Developing a Competitive Strategy, Business Development Foundations: Researching Market and Customer Needs, Business Development Foundations

Why it matters, in one sentence: Virtually all companies are facing increased competition, with organizations starved for people who can help them stay abreast and ahead of their competitors.

    21. Customer Service Systems
Recommended Courses: Handling Abusive Customers, Customer Service in Your First Retail Job, Building Rapport with Customers

Why it matters, in one sentence: In a world where one bad experience can lead to a tweet the whole world sees, consistent customer service is increasingly paramount.

    22. Software Testing
Recommended Courses: Test Automation Foundations, Behavior-Driven Development, Scripting for Testers

Why it matters, in one sentence: New softwares are hitting the market at record-numbers – requiring more and more people who can ensure they actually work.

    23. Data Science
Recommended Courses: Data Analytics for Pricing Analysts in Excel, Data Science Tools of the Trade: First Steps, Data Science Foundations: Data Engineering

Why it matters, in one sentence: An in-demand skill for the past several years, there is still a strong need for those who can make sense of a magnitude of data.

    24. Computer Graphics
Recommended Courses: Learning OpenGL, AutoCAD Mechanical Essential Training, AutoCAD: Advanced 3D Modeling

Why it matters, in one sentence: As a sizeable part of our digital world goes from 2D to 3D, companies are looking for people who can foster that transition.

    25. Corporate Communications
Recommended Courses: Crisis Communication, Writing a Press Release, Public Relations Foundations: Media Training

Why it matters, in one sentence: With social media, local mistakes can lead to global outrages, requiring people who can manage difficult situations.

Methodology: "The skills companies need most" was determined by looking at skills that are in high demand relative to their supply. Demand is measured by identifying the skills listed on the LinkedIn profiles of people who are getting hired at the highest rates. Only cities with 100,000 LinkedIn members were included.

Source: The Skills Companies Need Most in 2019 – And How to Learn Them