Coursera Global Skills Report 2021

Explore key takeaways from the Coursera Global Skills Report 2021 in this article from Coursera CEO, Jeff Maggioncalda, where he highlights top insights and trends across 100+ countries in business, technology, and data skills.

Read the article to:

● Identify relationships between skill proficiencies and key economic performance indicators
● Find out how skill proficiency correlates with inequities exposed by COVID-19
● Discover entry-level pathways and skill sets mapped to roles in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report

I’m excited to introduce Coursera’s third annual Global Skills Report, an in-depth look at the state of skills globally. This year’s study draws on performance data since the onset of the pandemic from over 77 million learners on Coursera to benchmark business, technology, and data skills proficiency for over 100 countries. For the first time, the Global Skills Report also reveals the top skills needed for high-demand entry-level jobs, including the learning hours required to develop them.

The pandemic has displaced millions of workers around the world, including long-term unemployment for many. In the US, 43 percent of unemployed people have been out of work for six months or longer. However, 97 million new digital jobs are still expected globally by 2025. McKinsey estimates that more than half of displaced low-wage workers may need to transition into higher-wage roles and develop new skills to remain employed in the new digital economy – that’s over 4.9 million workers in the US alone.

Access to a variety of job-relevant credentials, including a path to entry-level digital jobs, will be key to reskilling at scale and accelerating economic recovery. The Global Skills Report aims to help governments and employers assess skill gaps in their workforce, identify roles that can be filled with diverse, non-traditional candidates, and details the specific skills that are needed for these roles.

Understanding the Global Skills Rankings

In the regional sections of the report, we rank each country’s competency for business, technology, and data science skills. The rankings are relative, and over 100 countries within the report are ranked against one another, with percentile rankings attributed to each skill proficiency. That means a country that shows 100 percent skills proficiency ranks at the top of the 100+ countries and a country at zero percent is at the bottom. Coursera breaks out each group’s percentile rankings into the following four categories based on quartiles:

• Cutting-edge (76 percent or above)
• Competitive (51 percent – 75 percent)
• Emerging (26 percent – 50 percent)
• Lagging (25 percent or below)

For example, the US has 64 percent skills proficiency in business, 69 percent in technology, and 73 percent in data science. The country is ranked 29th overall globally and accounts for the following trends:

• Despite the rapid rate of digital transformation, US digital skills proficiency falls behind that of many countries in Europe and Asia. Ninety-one percent of US businesses accelerated their digitisation plans in 2020, but skills among the workforce have not transformed at the same pace. The US ranks 29th globally, trailing behind leaders Switzerland (#1) and Luxembourg (#2) in Europe, and Japan (#4) and Singapore (#10) in Asia. Out of over 100 countries, the US ranks 40th in business, 35th in data science, and 30th in technology skills.
• Regional divides persist. Ranking US regions as though they were countries, digital skills proficiency among learners in the South falls in the bottom half of all countries globally, compared to the West, which ranks in the top 10 percent. More than half (55 percent) of the jobs in the South are middle-skill positions, which require training beyond high school but not a four-year college degree. However, there are not enough workers in the region trained to fill these jobs. Coursera learner data further highlights the need to invest in skills training to close that gap.
• Despite an exodus of women from the US labour market, women are pursuing online education at a higher rate than pre-pandemic. Over 8 million fewer women were in the workforce in March 2021 compared to February 2020. However, the share of overall Coursera course enrolments in the US from women increased from 42 percent in 2018-2019 to 55 percent in 2020. The share of STEM course enrolments – which account for many foundational digital skills – for women grew from 35 percent over 2018-2019 to 47 percent in 2020. As the world recovers from the crisis, this points to a trend where online learning is helping level the playing field for women by giving them access to job-relevant skills.

New research: Entry-level jobs pathways

Based on the performance data of millions of learners on Coursera globally, the Global Skills Report also reveals the skills and time required to prepare for high-demand entry-level roles:

• Recent graduates and mid-career changers can develop entry-level, digital job skills in as little as 35 to 70 hours (or one to two months with 10 learning hours per week). On the other hand, someone with no degree or technology experience can be job-ready in 80 to 240 hours (or two to six months with 10 learning hours per week).
• Learners must invest in both soft and technical skills to stay job-relevant in a rapidly evolving labour market. For example, an entry-level cloud computing role like a Computer Support Specialist requires learning both soft skills like problem solving and organisational development, and technical skills such as security engineering and computer networking. Similarly, entry-level marketing roles require data analysis software and digital marketing skills in addition to soft skills like strategy, creativity, and communication.
• The most transferable skills across all future jobs are in human skills like problem solving and communication, computer literacy, and career management. Foundational skills like business communication and digital literacy enable workers to participate in increasingly tech-heavy and global work environments. As people change jobs more frequently, job search and career planning skills will be critical to role transitions and sustaining employment.

With 77 million learners, 6,000 institutions, and more than 5,000 courses from the world’s leading universities and industry educators, Coursera has one of the largest data sets for identifying and measuring skill trends. This year’s Global Skills Report is further enriched by pandemic-driven trends, including 30 million new learners who joined the platform in 2020.

To download the full report and explore insights unique to your country or region, visit coursera.org/global-skills-report.

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