Digital skills are seen by workers as being the most essential for the modern workplace, according to a new survey.

But the study also found that younger workers value emotional, or ‘soft’ skills, most.

The survey of 1,000 workers from all walks of life and ages – from CEOs to bus drivers, asked “what are the most important skills, from their perspective, for the future of work?”

Most (34 per cent) answered in favour of digital and technology skills and 28 per cent said functional skills, which are directly related to the job, as the most important skill set.

Meanwhile 24 per cent favoured emotional skills that boost collaboration and empathy; and 14 per cent said entrepreneurial skills were most important. 

The survey’s author Dr Sean Gallagher of Swinburne University’s Centre for the New Workforce said automation and artificial intelligence were already transforming workplaces.

“There’s no greater challenge facing society today than workforce transformation arising from digital technologies,” Dr Gallagher said.

“Sophisticated automation and artificial intelligence technologies are going to change all jobs and transform all work. Routine and predictable tasks are already being displaced by these technologies. We need to prepare our workers for the future of work now,” he said. 

A closer analysis of the data shows that what people think about the future of work may be different to how it will turn out; and there are clear differences in the perspectives of different age groups.

According to the survey data, digital skills are considered highly important by workers that hold senior positions in the workforce: Baby Boomers (or those born from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s) and to a lesser extent, Generation X (born in the 1960s to 1970s). 

But in the case of millennial workers – those born in the 1980s to 1990s – emotional skills and empathy are the most important skills moving forward.

“What I think this is portraying is that Baby Boomers and Gen X are making decisions for a future of work for a younger generation that doesn’t see the world as we see it,” Dr Gallagher said.

“Baby boomers have a very mechanistic view of the world. You have a skill, you can do a task, and produce a unit of output,” he said. 

Dr Gallagher described this traditional view of work as “predictable, linear and siloed,” where functional expertise is assisted by technology.

The future of work will be defined by continuous change, he said.

“It is interconnected, interdependent. It will require more of our uniquely human skills like emotional, social, collaborative and entrepreneurial skills, which are less vulnerable to being displaced by technology. But it’s also where technology will augment us as workers,” Dr Gallagher said.

“Millennials value social competencies relatively much higher than older generations. “They still value expertise, the functional skills related to our job, as fundamentally important, but not as highly as older workers,” he said. 

“A challenge for employers as well as for educators is, when we think of diversity, ‘how can we empower our young people to be change agents in organizations?’” Dr Gallagher said.

“Millennials have a more future-focused mindset that more accurately recognizes the work in the future requires a well-balanced skill set.” 

Dr Gallagher’s survey reinforces the findings of an APEC study on rethinking skills development in the digital age. 

The APEC study found discussions among industry, government and academics are essential in facing the challenges of digital disruption in the workforce, many of which have cross-border implications.

It also found a digital divide along age, gender and socio-economic lines

“How can we strengthen governments’ mechanisms to involve different actors in education and training programs?” the study asked.

“New experiences and insights on digital competitiveness and skills development will contribute to not only facilitate skills and talents mobility and also create jobs and faster connectivity among people,” it said.

“It is important to upskill our individuals with adequate education and training for the promotion of quality living in the Asia-Pacific region,” the APEC study said.