Dive Brief:

• LinkedIn Learning has published its newest report on the skills that companies will need most in 2019. Mining their extensive employee/employer data, the company has identified more than 50,000 professional skills that businesses require and workers posses. From that huge volume, LinkedIn has honed its list to five soft skills that will be in demand as well as 25 hard skills it believes will dominate the learning and recruitment market for the coming year. And to help workers and business upskill, its extensive learning library of these and other skills will be free for a short time.
• Creativity topped the list of soft skills; the ability to generate new ideas isn't a new requirement of businesses, but a new focus on innovation is driving this skill set to the top of the priority list. When it comes to working with others, persuasion and collaboration skills are key for 2019. Adaptability and time management round out the list.
• For hard skills, cloud computing is LinkedIn's top pick. Why? Most businesses are trying to get on the cloud, LinkedIn said, and need engineers with the know-how to do so. For tech, UX design, mobile app development, natural language processing and others will define the skills market. People management, business analysis and corporate communications and others are predicted to be highly sought after business skills. For creatives, industrial design, animation and journalism top their talent must-haves for 2019.

Dive Insight:

Many believe in a year of talent shortages and skills gaps, some of the most challenging deficiencies are soft skills when it comes to job seekers. With communication skills high ranking for employers, candidates are losing out on opportunities if they cannot interface well during the hiring process.

Demand continues to rise for high-tech skills as supply continues to shrink. Even the federal government is finding it challenging to hire tech workers in today's market. Collaboration between government, private industry and educators will be needed to bridge the talent shortages and keep business moving forward as technology further dominates the workplace. 

Online learning platforms are working to help upskill workers, with thousands of titles available. Even in non-traditional industries, like apparel, L&D is a priority and online courses are being created. Many platforms are working with niche markets and small businesses to help upskill American workers.