The new index evaluates countries across four key indicators: Skills Fit, Academic Readiness, Future of Work, and Economic Transformation.
The index analyses 81 countries, highlighting their strengths, challenges and potential across these areas.
According to the report, released by QS, the index has used data from over 280 million job postings via QS 1Mentor, the QS Global Employer Survey, and economic and demographic statistics from the World Bank Group.
The US with a final score of 97.6 has emerged as the most “future ready” country in the new index.
While industries like coal mining, fossil fuel, power generation, and certain manufacturing areas in the US are projected to face reduced employment over the next decade, the country is an “example of how major economies are grappling with industry transitions, balancing the need for new skills with the pressures of job displacement in declining sectors”, outlined the report.
The UK has emerged as a “global leader” when it comes to equipping graduates with the skills most sought after by employers and industries.
While the UK ranks first in two of the index’s four categories – Skills Fit and Academic Readiness, with a score of 100.00, the country lags in Future of Work (6th) and Economic Transformation (8th).
The report highlights a risk of stagnation in the UK due to low productivity growth, skill shortages, and insufficient investment in research and development.
The analysis has suggested that UK higher education providers establish lifelong and personalised learning paths for students, implement modularised learning to align curricula with the skills needed for future innovation, and develop targeted international research partnerships that address local industry needs to drive research innovation and stimulate economic growth.
With the UK government launching its ‘AI Opportunities Action Plan’ on January 12, the initiative sets out to address the country’s broader challenges.
“The UK’s new AI Opportunities Action Plan aims to make it easier for talent to come to the UK, as well as train the tens of thousands of AI professionals that the government acknowledges it needs by 2030,” said Matteo Quacquarelli, vice president, strategy and analytics, QS.
“In addition to developing the Skills England body closely with industry and announcing measures on how the new Lifelong Learning Entitlement will work, the UK government must ensure that it enhances higher education’s capacity for research innovation as well as promote higher education-industrial and international research partnerships to drive economic stimulus and industrial diversification.”
Australia is another country which has received recognition for being one of the top performers in the index.
The report highlights that Australia’s higher education system and job market are strongly positioned to cultivate and attract talent in critical emerging industries.
Deemed a future skills pioneer, Australia excels in Academic Readiness (98.9/100) and Future of Work (96.5/100).
Notably, it achieved a perfect score (100.00) in Workforce Readiness, a sub-indicator of Economic Transformation that measures unemployment rate, talent availability, and gross graduation ratio/higher education output.
Currently, the demand for AI, green and digital skills is already outpacing supply. Without immediate action, this gap could widen, posing significant challenges for future economic growth.
Matteo Quacquarelli, QS
However, the report stresses the need for targeted immigration policies and further investments in regional inclusivity in Australia to address workforce shortages in emerging industries.
“An area where stakeholders need to focus is around sustaining growth in AI, sustainability and digital industries. Investment in infrastructure, R&D and workforce capabilities is vital in this regard,” stated Quacquarelli.
“Currently, the demand for AI, green and digital skills is already outpacing supply. Without immediate action, this gap could widen, posing significant challenges for future economic growth.”
Furthermore, the report highlights India’s progress in creating a resilient investment ecosystem that fosters innovation, its strong readiness to integrate AI into the workforce, and its position as one of the nations best prepared, alongside Mexico, to recruit talent for digital roles.
Ranked 25th overall in the index, India has been recognised as a “future skills contender”.
The country excels in the Future of Work indicator, securing the second-highest global score (99.1).
While India demonstrates significant strengths, the index highlights critical challenges within its education and employment sectors.
These challenges include a disconnect between academic curricula and industry needs in key areas such as AI, green, and digital skills, as well as insufficient access to tertiary education for India’s large and fast-growing youth population.
Additionally, there is inadequate integration of sustainability into educational programs and industry practices, along with minimal investment in research and development, which remains at just 0.6% of GDP compared to the global average of 2.7%.
India also received a low score on the Future-Oriented Innovation and Sustainability metric, highlighting slow progress in creating forward-thinking solutions and integrating sustainable practices.
“Between 2025 and 2030, India’s economy is expected to grow at an average of 6.5% annually putting the country ahead of many competitor economies around the world,” stated Quacquarelli.
“But as the economy continues to evolve and innovate, students, graduates and workers need to be supported to keep up with the pace of change in relevant skills required.”
India’s performance in the Future Skills Index was hailed by the country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who highlighted the Indian government’s efforts in skilling India’s youth population.
“Over the last decade, our government has worked on strengthening our youth by equipping them with skills that enable them to become self-reliant and create wealth. We have also leveraged the power of technology to make India a hub for innovation and enterprise,” Modi stated on X.
“The insights from the QS World Future Skills Index are valuable as we move further on this journey towards prosperity and youth empowerment.”
The index, which has Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Singapore, and South Korea rounding out the rest of the top ten countries, comes at a time when the job market is increasingly seen to be under threat from automation.
“By 2050, University of Oxford economist Dr Carl Frey and Professor of machine learning Michael Osborne predict that at least 40% of current jobs will be lost to automation,” read the report.
“By aligning curricula with the evolving needs of industries, especially in areas like AI, digital, and sustainable technologies, higher education institutions help to bridge the skills gap and mitigate workforce risk to support economic resilience and growth.”
The post US leads in World Future Skills Index appeared first on The PIE News.