Your questions about high-ubiquity and high-growth skills answered
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What are high-ubiquity and high-growth skills?
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How can you assess your set of skills?
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Why high-ubiquity and high-growth skills are key to career growth
One of the key findings in the SkillsFuture Movement 10th Anniversary Jobs-Skills Insights report, “Realising the Skills-First Advantage: Growing Business and Workforce Together,” is that skill requirements across job roles are changing.
The workplace is undergoing significant transformation, driven by advances in technology, new ways of working, and shifting workplace demands. As businesses adapt their operations and models, the fundamental nature of employment is shifting.
This raises an important question: What type of skills are needed for various evolving job positions, and how can you stay ahead?
What are high-ubiquity skills?
Charles Disneur, head of sales and marketing at Adecco, explained that high-ubiquity skills are transferable skills that “help individuals perform effectively and efficiently in any work environment.”
These include communication, digital literacy, problem-solving, decision-making and teamwork, to name a few.
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What are high-growth skills?
High-growth skills are skills that are experiencing rapid demand as industries digitise and expand. These often relate to areas such as data analysis, cybersecurity, automation, sustainability, and AI-related capabilities.
AI-led skills are in demand because they are becoming more prominent in our daily work processes, and the ability to use AI-related tools is essential for long-term relevance, Charles added.
Ubiquitous skills form a foundation of adaptability, while growth skills offer specialisation. Together, they strengthen employability and complement job-defining technical skills, Charles explained.
In practice, the most effective skill combinations pair high-ubiquity skills with specialised technical knowledge. For example, data roles require analytical thinking—a high-ubiquity skill that applies across industries—alongside domain-specific technical knowledge such as statistical modelling or data visualisation tools.
This combination allows professionals to not only perform technical tasks but also interpret findings and communicate insights effectively to stakeholders.
Assessing and growing your own set of high-ubiquity and high-growth skills
“All segments of the workforce can benefit from understanding their high-ubiquity and high-growth skills, as this awareness helps individuals recognise their transferable strengths and identify areas for upskilling,” Charles said.
“Jobseekers gain clearer pathways into a wider range of roles, while younger workers can build a stronger foundation early in their careers.
“Mid-careerists, however, may benefit the most. As industries evolve and certain roles mature or decline, mid-career workers need to continuously refresh and expand their high-growth skills to remain employable and competitive.”
Regularly evaluating these skills helps mid-careerists pivot into adjacent or expanding sectors more confidently, without having to restart their careers.
In Singapore, such transitions are being actively supported. Over 4,300 professionals across 640 businesses in 23 industries went through skills development at Workforce Singapore (WSG) during the last two years through the Job Redesign Reskilling Career Conversion Programme (JRR CCP).
Strengthening ubiquity and growth skills isn’t limited to formal programmes alone. Individuals can develop these capabilities through practical on-the-job exposure, including cross-functional tasks and digital tools.
Coaching, peer learning, and micro-learning in areas like digital productivity and data literacy further enhance these skills, Charles added.
Why employers value high-ubiquity skills and high-growth skills
For employers, this matters. When you’re able to demonstrate that you have an effective set of high-ubiquity and high-growth skills in the role you’re growing into or vying for, you signal to your employer that you’re highly adaptable.
Such skills signal adaptability, reduce training time, and contribute directly to productivity.
Employers trust individuals who can cope with change, pick up new tools, and work effectively across teams, Charles explained.
“They usually improve productivity, especially in environments where digital adoption and automation are increasingly popular. In addition, there is also less training risk as such individuals tend to require less onboarding and make quicker contributions to the organisation.”
In turn, employees who continuously upskill tend to stay longer with their employers, reducing costly turnover and preserving institutional knowledge that might otherwise be lost.
Building career resilience and career mobility in the long-term
According to the report, the top three high-ubiquity skills are:
- Data collection
- Stakeholder engagement
- Management
The three top high-growth skills are:
- Data strategy
- Carbon management footprint
- Sustainability management
This is consistent with what we see in the job market today, Charles advised. “Data stands out as the most relevant skill set as it is frequently relied on and used for decision-making.”
“Stakeholder engagement remains essential in workplaces as it is crucial for project execution and change management.”
“Meanwhile, sustainability skills are rising sharply as more industries incorporate environmental responsibility and green operations into their core business. This is prevalent especially with the rollout of Singapore Green Plan 2030.”
Beyond productivity gains, adaptable employees deliver significant cost savings to organisations. Reduced onboarding time translates directly into lower training expenses and faster return on investment for new hires.
Companies also benefit from greater workforce flexibility, as employees with strong ubiquity skills can be redeployed across different functions or projects without extensive retraining.
This agility becomes particularly valuable during organisational restructuring or when responding to market shifts, allowing businesses to pivot quickly without the expense of external recruitment.
In a nutshell, these skills will help you gain career resilience and more opportunities, whilst your employer will benefit from having a more adaptable productive workforce.
That’s a win-win outcome for both you and your employer in the current competitive market!
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