Requirements forecasting refers to the anticipation of future qualification and job requirements that positions are likely to demand at specific points in time. It complements traditional requirements analysis and is particularly relevant in areas such as potential assessment, personnel selection, personnel development, and personnel needs assessment.
The main purpose of requirements forecasting is to enable organizations to:
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Anticipate future skill needs
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Make more targeted hiring and training decisions
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Support long-term workforce planning and strategic HR management
By predicting how job demands will evolve, companies can better align their talent strategies with changing business environments.
However, these forecasts come with significant uncertainty, as organizational and technological change is often discontinuous and inconsistent. Rapid shifts in work structures and tasks can make future job requirements difficult to predict accurately.
To address this, organizations increasingly rely on the concept of extrafunctional qualifications—broad, transferable skills such as adaptability, problem-solving, and learning agility—that remain relevant even as specific tasks or roles change.
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