Durable Skills
Raising children in 2025 is stressful. Part of that stress comes from trying to prepare children to be successful adults in a world and a job market that is unknown. Anticipating what the job market will look like for for our current middle or high school students is difficult. Adding to the uncertainty, it is predicted that AI will lead to more changes in the job landscape.
“Analysis of 80 million job postings from 2020-2021 reveals that 7 of the 10 most requested skills are durable skills. And the top 5 durable skills were requested in job postings 4.7 times more often than the top 5 hard skills. In short, durable skills are in demand for jobs across the workforce, regardless of educational attainment level, industry sector, or geography.” 1
Durable skills, once called “soft skills,” can be understood as the way we utilize our knowledge, such as critical thinking, collaboration, and communication, as well as character skills like ethical conduct and leadership.
Durable skills are essential life skills highly valued by employers and serve us well in various social, personal, and professional contexts. Parenting approaches that actively support the development of durable skills focus on process over outcome, promote collaborative problem-solving, embrace mistakes as opportunities for growth, and allow room for exploration and curiosity.
While the future job market remains uncertain, focusing on developing durable skills provides a solid foundation for our children's success. By prioritizing these essential life skills, we equip them with the adaptability, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills they need to thrive in an ever-evolving world, regardless of the specific challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Investing in their durable skills is not just preparing them for a job; it's preparing them for life.
The Durable Skills wheel is a visual tool from America Succeeds that sorts 100 leading skills into ten main competencies and corresponding sub-skills.
1 https://durableskills.org/about/ - America Succeeds
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