LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, today unveiled the Top Skills of 2016, ranking both the technical and soft skills that are most sought after by employers. And to help professionals upskill, it revealed the Week of Learning will take place next week, giving professionals access to over 5,000 online courses – all for free.
LinkedIn’s annual Top Skills list is developed by analysing all recruitment activity on the site from the year to date. In the UK, “Statistical Analysis and Data Mining” topped the list of most in-demand skills for the second year running. The Top Skills of 2016 in the UK are:
1) Statistical Analysis and Data Mining
2) Middleware and Integration Software
3) HR Benefits and Compensation
4) Web Architecture and Development Framework
5) Mobile Development
6) Perl/Python/Ruby
7) SEO/SEM Marketing
8) Network and Information Security
9) Data Presentation
10) Data Engineering and Data Warehousing
According to this year’s ranking, tech skills remain in high demand amongst the UK’s employers, driven by the ever-growing need to understand data and boost innovation across a wide range of industries. Computer programming languages “Perl/Python/Ruby” and “Network and Information Security” are both new entrants to the list this year.
The most challenging ‘soft skills’ to find according to UK recruiters are ownership, strategic thinking, communication and persistence. More than three in five (61 per cent) agreed that soft skills are difficult to find and that this limits their organisation’s productivity (56 per cent).
“Whilst some skill sets inevitably come and go according to industry shifts, our data strongly suggests that demand for tech skills shows no signs of disappearing anytime soon,” says LinkedIn’s Darain Faraz. “We have also seen “HR Benefits and Compensation” leap 18 places to feature in the UK’s Top Skills list this year. Our recent Work Satisfaction Survey found that only 40 per cent of UK professionals feels fulfilled at work, so it’s reassuring to see that businesses are focussing on recruiting a winning HR team to ensure staff satisfaction is the priority.”
To help equip the UK’s job seekers and professionals with these, and a range of other, skills, LinkedIn is hosting a Week of Learning from 24th-30th October, offering access to more than 5,000 courses free of charge. Professionals can visit the Week of Learning for more information.