Skills you can't automate: a parent's guide to 2030

Artificial intelligence writes code and copy. So what's left for people? We unpack the top skills employers name, and simple ways to develop them in your teenager this very year.

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What employers will value

In the Future of Jobs 2025 report, employers named the skills that will grow most in value by 2030. Technology leads, but right next to it stand purely human qualities.

AI and big data;
networks and cybersecurity;
technological literacy;
creative thinking;
resilience, flexibility and adaptability;
curiosity and lifelong learning;
leadership and social influence.

And analytical thinking employers call the most important skill already today — seven out of ten companies consider it a core skill.

How to develop these skills without tutors

Creativity — give a task with no right answer: “figure out how to reduce litter in our stairwell”.
Resilience — don't rescue immediately. Let them make a mistake and try again.
Leadership — ask them to organise something for others: a family trip, a school event.
Technological literacy — don't ban AI; teach them to check its answers.
Curiosity — ask “but why?” more often than you give answers.

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
— Attributed to Benjamin Franklin

That's why at Big Fish we teach through projects: a skill used on a real task stays for good.

Want to understand which of your child's skills are already strong and which need work? A career adviser will map them together with your teenager.

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Skills you can't automate: a parent's guide to 2030

What employers will value

How to develop these skills without tutors

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