The Essential 21st Century Skills for the Labour Market and Education: Conceptual Overview
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: 21st century skills are becoming increasingly important both in education systems around the world and in the labor market. In this article, it is assumed that any individual can master all the individual skills with appropriate training. Acquiring these skills while at school will enable individuals to develop them throughout their adult working lives. Skills for the 21st century do not have a strict definition, resulting in the existence of interdependent areas. This article examines the following skills: creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, adaptability, leadership, lifelong learning and problem solving. After analyzing each of them, their commonalities are identified. The ultimate goal of all of them is to find an innovative solution to a problem. Finally, each of these skills is placed on a pyramid. Moving from the bottom of the pyramid to the top, we find the skills that are prerequisites for mastering the higher level. In this way, it is clear which skills the person needs to master first in order to progress to the next level. In an educational system where skills are cultivated from childhood, it is not necessary to master all the skills at once, but to master them gradually. The pyramid can be used as a guide as to which skills should be cultivated at the initial level.
Authors: Eirini Golegou, Manolis Wallace, Kostas Peppas
Institution: University of Peloponnese
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4410649246