Advances in AI have meant that workers across sectors and job levels are increasingly being expected to bring some level of AI fluency to the job. This shift has led to widespread investment in AI upskilling and training efforts, as organizations redesign work to succeed in the age of AI
Yet, a new study finds that technical AI skills aren’t the most coveted capabilities that today’s recruiters are actually searching for in the talent pool. Instead, AI-adjacent, but distinctly human, skills take the top spots.
Based on a survey of 600 corporate recruiters, the study from Graduate Management Admission Council identified the five skills deemed most important this year:
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Adaptability
- Data analysis/interpretation
- Interpersonal/teamwork skills
Data analysis skills saw a big jump from 2025 to this year—up from 10th place—while technology and IT skills moved from 11th place to eighth and AI skills also saw a jump from 16th place in 2025 to 14th this year.
The rankings tell the story: HR and recruiters need employees to be flexible, agile and adaptable to respond to a rapidly changing business environment where AI is redefining work. The ways in which recruiters envision the skills of the future bolster this idea.
While hard skills around tech and AI were less important than human skills this year, when asked to identify the most critical capabilities they envision talent possessing in 2031, it was a much different story. Those rankings are topped by:
- Skills in using Al tools
- Strategic thinking
- Technology/IT skills
- Decision-making
- Problem-solving
Sara Chapman, CHRO at infrastructure engineer services firm Ultieg, recently told HR Executive that the organization is reexamining work in a way that emphasizes unique human skills like those identified as the most sought-after in the GMAC research in order to eventually reap the full benefits of AI in the workplace.
“Where can automation or AI help our employees focus on the work they’re really great at—critical thinking, leveraging their experience to connect the dots, strategize with clients?” she says about the questions HR is considering today. Such an approach, bolstered by targeted AI upskilling initiatives, Chapman says, brings human skills to the forefront while creating sustainable, long-term AI strategies.
As recruiters increasingly emphasize so-called “soft” skills in their talent strategies, workers also want to demonstrate those uniquely human skills. A report out last year from Workday found that 83% of employees surveyed think AI integration in the workplace will heighten the need for capabilities only humans can exhibit.
“AI’s greatest application,” Workday researchers write, “is in making companies more human—returning their focus to the creativity, empathy, ethical judgment and symbiotic relationships that make an organization powerful and nimble.”
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