Pearson has partnered with Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) in order to prepare students to become leaders in whatever career path they choose. Through this partnership, students as early as middle school will gain the experience, mindset, and skills they need in order to thrive as community-minded business leaders in a global society.
Developed in 1937, FBLA believes in more than simple career success. FBLA believes that every person should prepare for a meaningful career and to go about that work in a manner that helps to lift up their own families, the people around them, and society as a whole.Developed in 1937, FBLA believes in more than simple career success. FBLA believes that every person should prepare for a meaningful career and to go about that work in a manner that helps to lift up their own families, the people around them, and society as a whole.
It’s not too early to start thinking about how to be a leader in whatever field (or fields) you choose to pursue. Want to become the kind of person that your coworkers or employees are inspired to imitate?
The Pearson-FBLA partnership will help you learn what you need to know. Through FBLA’s programs, you will:
Last year, we asked over 1,000 HR leaders and hiring managers what types of jobs are hardest to fill and 37% said that they struggle most with hiring those who are just getting started in the labor market. To put that in perspective, according to these business leaders, entry level talent is actually harder for them to find than executive level talent.
That’s the question we asked students in a survey conducted in August 2023. The overwhelming need-to-know item wasn’t college advice or career options, but skills. What skills should I develop? What skills are employers looking for? What abilities, knowledge, and experience do businesses want to hire?
According to another study conducted by Pearson, the top five skills desired by businesses are human skills (aka soft skills)—relational skills that help us forge connections with colleagues and customers. LinkedIn reported similar findings in their 2024 Most In-Demand Skills list, where the majority of the top 10 skills of today are human skills.
Employees with strong human skills tend to understand others’ needs and problems, communicate excellently, adapt and innovate well, and make good team players. So it is no wonder businesses want to hire people with such strengths.
What about hard skills? Aren’t they still important? While hard (or technical) skills remain vital, it is classic skills such as communication, leadership, and collaboration that form the necessary foundation for technical skills to rest upon. If a software developer can write code in five languages but can’t communicate well with management or collaborate with others, they are of considerably less value to their company. And in recent times, it appears that human skills are the commodity in short supply. Thus the demand is skyrocketing.
In this article, we will look at the top five desired skills and discuss how students and jobseekers can develop them early in the game—before they go off to college or land a “real” job, or even before they leave the house. We will also look at some of the fastest-growing, high-demand technical skills that can be added on top of the foundation of human skills.
