The rapid advancement of technology, globalization, and evolving economic landscapes are reshaping the nature of work. The workforce of the future will be defined by its ability to adapt, innovate, and embrace continuous learning. As industries integrate artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and digital transformation, traditional job roles are being redefined, and new skills are emerging as essential for career success.

NEXT project is a EU funded project aiming to significantly contribute to the training of the workforce of the future (with a particular focus on the Information Technology domain). The project has 3 pillars:
(1) educational setting consisting of newly developed learning educational materials,
(2) technological background - learning environment for digital and in-person learning, and
(3) virtual background enabling students’ across Europe to collaborate virtually.

In deciding the topics for the learning materials to be developed, NEXT conducted extensive research on the digital skills required for the workforce of the future.

SEEBLOCKS project is a EU funded project aiming to support European standardisation efforts in the Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) field. The project also includes an educational component that focuses on raising awareness about these technologies and providing educational content and training on standardisation in general and Blockchain&DLT standardisation in particular. Both projects are working in synergy on advancing the EU skills on standardisation and Blockchain&DLT technologies skills.

This paper presents the research conducted in the context of these projects to identify the required skills of the workforce of the future. Other European projects results are highlighted as well (e.g. DigiAdvance, Edu4standards, etc.) The focus is on the workforce of the future working mainly in the Information Technology area. By providing insights into these evolving requirements, this paper aims to help individuals, businesses, and policymakers prepare for the challenges and opportunities of the future labor market. Understanding the essential skills for tomorrow's workforce is not only crucial for career development but also for sustaining economic growth and innovation in an increasingly interconnected world.

In identifying the required skills for the workforce of the future, we employed a mixed approach that involved:
- Research on existing literature and skills reports.
- Conducting surveys with professionals. In the context of the NEXT project, we surveyed professionals on the required skills, both technological skills and soft/transversal skills.
- Conducting public consultations. SEEBLOCKS conducted a public consultation, in two stages, that was focused on identifying future blockchain and standards-related priorities. Hence it was not a skills-oriented public consultation. This is why we considered the results even more eloquently: the need of Blockchain & DLT skills, but also standardisation skills was identified as essential by the respondents to the public consultation in responses to an open question: “What is missing from the landscape that would enable wider adoption of Blockchain / DLT in the near future?”

In a nutshell, the results demonstrate that the workforce of the future needs to be well rounded, both technical skills and transversal skills are required. Furthermore, they are required to be lifelong learners.

Keywords: Skills, education, blockchain, AI.