The In-Demand Skills Employers Will Need Most in 2026

The labour market is being reshaped by AI, automation, and pressure to optimise costs. New roles appear, old ones shrink, and skills once considered enough lose value quickly. For business leaders in Vietnam, the question is not whether to invest in skills, but which skills to invest in and how to pay for them.

[Download the full Infographic: In-Demand Skills for 2026]

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Why skills are a strategic priority in 2026

Work is changing faster than most organisations can learn. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, nearly 40% of core skills will change or become outdated by 2030. That figure has eased from previous editions, partly because more workers have been reskilled, but it is still large enough to make one thing clear: competitive advantage now sits in how fast a company upgrades its people’s capability, not just in hiring more of them.

This puts skills on the leadership agenda. When a meaningful share of work is reshaped within a few years, workforce strategy and business strategy become one story, and the decision to invest in capability can no longer sit with HR alone.

The skills needed: technology plus human

The most important point is that the skills in demand are not on one side. The fastest-rising group is technology, but the foundational group is human skills, and growing roles usually require both.

On the technology side, the sought-after skills include AI and big data, cybersecurity, and digital literacy more broadly. Demand for this group is projected to rise across most industries and is among the fastest-growing according to skills surveys.

On the human side, analytical thinking remains the core skill employers value most, alongside adaptability and flexibility, leadership and influence, creative thinking, and curiosity and lifelong learning. This is the group that lets a person harness technology rather than be replaced by it.

For businesses, the implication is clear: a capability plan focused only on digital tools while neglecting thinking and adaptability produces people who can operate tools but struggle to lead change.

The Vietnam context: AI and data increasingly shaping talent value

In Vietnam, this trend shows up in labour-market data. Per the assessment in the Talentnet-Mercer Total Remuneration Survey 2025, drawn from hundreds of leading companies, AI and data skills are projected to increasingly shape the value of talent in the years ahead.

At the same time, many businesses are shifting from expanding headcount to strengthening internal capability, keeping teams stable and building core competencies rather than hiring at pace. In other words, the focus is moving from more people to more value per person, and skills are the measure of that shift.

Working from the broader framework, there are a few skill groups businesses in Vietnam should prioritise for 2026:

• Applied AI and data skills, not just for technical teams but for business staff who can use and evaluate AI tools in daily work.
• Cybersecurity and foundational digital skills, as data and processes become more digitised and the associated risks rise.
• Complementary human skills such as analytical thinking, adaptability, and communication, which turn technology into real results.
• Change-leadership capability at the management layer, to move technology initiatives into operations rather than leaving them at the pilot stage.

What these groups share is that they reinforce one another: an organisation strong in digital tools but short on analytical thinking and change leadership will struggle to turn technology investment into business results.

From tenure to skills: paying for capability

When skills become the measure of value, pay changes too. The Talentnet-Mercer survey shows compensation gradually moving from tenure toward skills and capability, alongside more flexible benefit packages. The consequence is that businesses need to tie pay to their own skills map; otherwise, a message that says skills matter will contradict a reality where pay still rises mainly with years of service.

What businesses should do

First, build a skills map for the period ahead, combining both technology and human skills, then compare it with current capability to see the real gaps.

Second, prioritise reskilling and upskilling against those gaps rather than spreading budget evenly across courses. AI, data, and cybersecurity skills usually need to pair with analytical and adaptability skills to create real impact.

Third, tie pay to skills and capability, using market survey data to price scarce capabilities correctly rather than chasing the general average.

How Talentnet helps

Building capability for the period ahead is a strategic decision that needs both skills development and the pay mechanisms to match. Talentnet Academy supports capability development tied to strategy, while the Talentnet-Mercer salary survey provides the data to price skills and design skills-based pay. For businesses that want to prepare their teams for 2026 methodically, this is a starting point to consider.

Define the skills you need. Close the gaps. Pay for real value.

[Download the full Infographic: In-Demand Skills for 2026]

Frequently asked questions

Which skills are most in demand in 2026? A combination of technology skills such as AI, data, and cybersecurity with human skills such as analytical thinking, adaptability, and leadership. Growing roles usually require both groups.

Are technology or human skills more important? It is not a choice between them. Technology skills are rising faster in value, but human skills are the foundation that lets people harness technology and lead change.

What does skills-based pay mean? It means tying pay to the skills and capability that create value, rather than mainly to tenure, usually alongside a skills map and market survey data.

Conclusion

2026 rewards businesses that treat skills as a strategic asset, one that is mapped, developed, and paid for deliberately. The most-needed skills are not only technology or only human, but the ability to combine both, and the businesses that manage that will keep their edge as the labour market keeps shifting.

[Download the full Infographic: In-Demand Skills for 2026]