What to Learn in 2022: How to Maintain and Increase Your Value

Together with an expert, we answer the question, what should an adult learn to be a sought-after specialist, and what should teams learn to remain a sought-after business?

The labor market, both in our country and around the world, is experiencing a post-pandemic crisis. In September 2021, according to the international study Future of Work, 58% of employers said that finding candidates with the right skills in a pandemic has become their biggest problem. Today, according to the results of the Hays study, 76% of employers cannot find qualified specialists, 69% because of this are ready to hire employees not only from other regions, but also from other industries. At the same time, 56% of respondents plan to change jobs in the near future.

The fight for talent is intensifying: business is trying to attract candidates with career prospects (58%), while applicants are primarily interested in interesting functionality and opportunities for development (69%). All of this is happening in an environment where skills are becoming obsolete at an incredible rate: in the coming months, one in three skills required for jobs in 2018 will be unnecessary, and 85% of the jobs that will arise in 2030 have not yet been invented today.

What did the world learn in 2021

The hype in online learning turned out to be lower than in the pandemic-fuelled 2020: 40 million new students who registered for at least one open e-learning course, against 60 million. Nevertheless, online education is thoroughly entrenched in our lives. Course topics are as broad as possible. For example, on Coursera, among the most popular programs over the past two years, there are machine learning, and the basics of UX, and well-being. And the educational platform edX in its review notes that the best courses included programs in Excel, ecology, financial accounting and food fermentation.

What did they study in our country in 2021

Evgeny Lebedev, head of Yandex.Practicum in our country, also confirms that online education is only gaining momentum: “Today, a huge part of our country is interested in reprofiling, acquiring new skills that are in demand. An increasingly popular tool for transitioning to a new profession is online education. Based on the experience of Praktikum, the most popular educational programs among our students are programming in different languages ​​(courses were chosen by 40% of students in 2021) and data analytics (25% in 2021). We also see an increase in demand for marketing, management and design areas. The market is also interested in them: according to the latest research by the Institute of Education of the Higher School of Economics, 78% of Yandex.Practicum graduates are successfully employed in a new job, one in six without waiting for graduation.”

According to Elena Gerasimova, head of additional professional education at Netology, in 2021 the rating is as follows: software tester, marketplace manager, internet marketer, SMM manager, graphic designer, Python developer, interior designer, targetologist, UX /UI designer and Instagram promotion specialist. It became clear that the pandemic will be with us for a long time, which means that it is necessary to strengthen the product in the “digital” in the face of the continued growth of competition for user attention. Most likely, in the coming years, the demand for courses on Internet marketing, SMM, targeted advertising and promotion on Instagram will continue.

Artem Kazakov, Commercial Director of Skillbox, noted that users most often choose IT programs, especially Python Developer and 1C Developer. Artem explains his interest in Python with its simplicity and relevance in the field of data mining and machine learning. The expert also predicts that the demand for IT programs will remain high in the future.

Other popular online university programs are Graphic Designer, SMM Specialist (which is suitable for both beginners and business owners) and the universal Web Developer track, where users learn from scratch to create full-fledged websites and web applications .

As for corporate training, the statistics are as follows: according to SberUniversity, corporate education organizers provide employees with programs aimed at developing narrow professional skills (41,2%), teamwork (36%), leadership (34,6%) and others. competencies that are important for the job.

But employees are still more interested in soft skills and cross-functional skills. So, according to the LXP-platform for corporate training K-AMPUS, employees most often studied programs on personal effectiveness (21%), project management (27,4%), agile techniques (18%), design thinking (12% ) and goal setting (22%).

What to study in 2022 to increase your professional value

Despite the growing trend towards lifelong learning, studies show that professionals use only 37% of acquired skills. One of the reasons is that some of them are simply not needed, but were appointed from above. In order to make learning effective, an individual plan is needed, formed with the active involvement of the learner from three areas: professional skills, soft skills, and development of horizons. Below is a list of the most relevant skills in each of these areas.

Hard skills 2022

Researchers recommend focusing on the following professional areas in 2022:

• Information technology and cybersecurity. The fight against cybercrime will cost international businesses $6 trillion a year in the face of a severe shortage of specialists in this field. The field of cybersecurity is an excellent long-term choice for individual and corporate training.
• Data analysis. The choice of the right business decisions and ways to promote the project largely depends on how skillfully the team works with data and is able to predict results. Analytical skills are becoming more and more relevant as a separate profession (according to Deloitte, analysts’ income in the US will grow to $130,2 thousand this year), while being an important and weighty addition to core professional competencies.
• UX-design. According to MyJobMag, in 2022, first of all, you need to develop skills in UX design, because they help create products that are useful and comfortable for the user. UX design courses will be useful not only for designers themselves, but also for everyone involved in the creation, maintenance and promotion of a product.
• Content marketing. According to forecasts, by 2025 the content marketing market will grow by $417,85 billion. Education in this area will be useful for both freelancers and corporate specialists. We recommend supplementing content marketing courses with training on creating different formats. The former help to determine the goals and content strategy of the company, while the latter allow you to create high-quality and relevant content.
• Content production. In 2021, people watched 167 million videos every minute, the time spent on streaming services increased from half an hour to an hour, and the number of podcast listeners in the United States reached 120 million. In our country, podcasts are not yet so popular, but they are expected to be listened to by 2024 about 28 million people. In addition, 54% of consumers want to watch more videos from their favorite brands. Therefore, it becomes interesting and profitable for businesses to produce video content on their own, rather than outsourcing it, and also to work with people who understand how podcasts are made. This, in turn, increases the demand for specialists who can both assemble a team and create content without complex production.

Soft skills 2022

When studying in courses that give you purely professional skills, do not forget about soft skills. They are now no less, and sometimes even more important. According to the global study Future of Work, 63% of employers are ready to hire specialists with strong soft skills – teamwork, time management or leadership – and independently train them in the technical aspects of work.

The most important soft skills in 2022 include:

• Ability to solve problems and act out of the box. This not only allows you to find suitable solutions, but also greatly expands your horizons and helps in networking.
• Strategic planning. The most important thing here is the ability to analyze information, identify trends, set goals and choose the right direction for the development of a person or business.
• Making decisions is one of the key skills for leaders. If you want to manage teams and create products that change the world, it is important to learn how to quickly scan all available information, use your intuition, choose one of the many options and convince people that this is the right path to go.
• Active listening – it is a skill that will come in handy not only when communicating with loved ones, but also when working in the most successful teams that adhere to the principle of ethnic and cultural diversity. And there you need to be able to negotiate almost everything.
• Logistics is at the intersection of the skills that are needed for successful work, and the skills that will be useful for a comfortable life. For each of us, for professional development, it is no longer enough to fulfill only a narrow range of duties, while the value of family and personal time increases. Logistic skills will help you choose the best routes, save time on the road and spend it on activities that are important to you.

Erudition

A broad outlook is a prerequisite for the development of important soft skills. It helps to notice non-obvious connections between phenomena, stimulates creativity and fuels curiosity. Knowledge can be developed through travel, books, articles, short videos, podcasts, and short courses. Delve into everything you were interested in before and continuously learn new things.

For example, already today you can choose interesting material on such free educational resources:

• TED Talks
• Universarium
• Theories and Practices
• Lecterium
• Post Science

In conclusion, I want to note that there are two skills that will never lose their relevance and significance: digital literacy and critical thinking. Thanks to these skills, you will feel safe in the online space, will be able to protect yourself from cybercriminals and fake news, as well as choose really high-quality materials for education in any field that interests you. In addition, digital literacy and critical thinking are becoming key skills that will help you find a good job.

Eight out of 2025 jobs now require digital literacy, according to Markle research, and senior executives around the world see “critical thinking and analysis” as a group of skills likely to increase in importance between now and XNUMX. At the same time, it is precisely these skills that are your competitive advantage in the labor market today: even among tech-savvy millennials, there are still few people who can safely list them in a resume. But your reputation, career prospects, and bank account size depend on the ability to use technology and distinguish good from bad.

I have compiled for you a selection of 60 courses that I recommend for passing in 2022. Learn, choose the best and master the skills that will help you and your employees become even more competitive tomorrow and in the longer future.