Cornerstone OnDemand Inc., have announced the release of its annual report ‘Releases’ which features trends powered by Cornerstone’s labour market intelligence. One key trend in the report is the ‘Great Skills Merge,’ the breaking down of traditional role separations between “technical jobs” and “people jobs” as AI takes over routine tasks, creates demand for blended roles and redefines corporate workforces with more of a balance of technical and human skills. The report highlights a surging demand for skills such as data literacy in customer-facing roles (+22 per cent) and emotional intelligence in advanced technical roles (+95 per cent).
The report also found AI implementation skills surged 245 per cent year-over-year, becoming the number one most demanded skill globally, displacing communication, which held that position for over a decade. To create the report, Cornerstone leveraged its 28 TB of live labour market data covering more than 200+ countries and territories, encompassing 50,000+ distinct skills across industries, job functions and regions, including job postings, resumes, government datasets, educational program descriptions, corporate reports and other data points collected between 2023 and 2025.
Additional insights from the report include:
- EI (Emotional Intelligence)in the Age of AI: As traditional human skills like customer service (-45 per cent) and sales and marketing (-22 per cent), and administrative support (-38 per cent) decline due to automation, skills like emotional intelligence (+95 per cent), creative thinking (+18 per cent), resilience and flexibility (+42 per cent) and leadership and social influence (+28 per cent) reflect the need for employees who can solve complex problems amid disruption.
- A Green Light for Green Skills: Capabilities tied to green technologies (+156 per cent), sustainability management (+180 per cent) and renewable energy systems (+165 per cent) rank among the world’s most in-demand technical skills with trillions in global climate investment.
- The 911 on Health Skills: The aging population and rising healthcare needs are fueling care innovation, creating a demand for registered nurses (+278 per cent), patient care (+79 per cent) and biotechnology (+145 per cent) skills.
“While AI is rewriting how we work and what is demanded of us at work, people will always be at the centre of progress and innovation,” said Himanshu Palsule, Chief Executive Officer at Cornerstone. “While our latest report reveals a 50/50 shift in demand for human and AI skills today, what concerns me is how unprepared many organisations still are. The future is not going to wait for those who fail to meet the moment and invest in their people.”
“The global workforce is facing a period of unprecedented transformation and restructuring, especially as AI continues to disrupt industries,” said Mohan Reddy, Chief Scientist, SkyHive Engineering, at Cornerstone. “Understanding historical trends and real-time market intelligence, together, provide critical insight into workforce and skills trends to support organisations in making informed decisions about workforce planning in the short- and long-term.”