American freelancing platform, Upwork Global Inc. has released a list of the most in-demand skills for independent professionals in 2023. This list comes at a time when a shortage of talent is a concern for the corporate sector that has merged with the rising economic challenges affecting developing and underdeveloped countries. The corporate and industrial sectors in Pakistan in 2023 are expected to face numerous challenges and many such issues are upon them. In such uncertain times, one needs to remain actively attuned to building their future. The future of Pakistan is in its youth. They must pursue developing skills that provide them with opportunities to earn income as freelancers. Upwork’s top 10 in-demand tech skills for 2023 include Full Stack Development, Front-End Development, Back-End Development, Mobile App Development, Web Design, E-commerce Website Development, UX/UI Design, CMS Development, Manual Testing and Scripting & Automation. Among the top 10 in-demand marketing skills are SEO, Social Media Marketing, Other Digital Marketing, Lead Generation, Sales & Business Development, Telemarketing, Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing, Marketing Strategy and Marketing Automation. Email, Phone & Chat Support leads the list of 10 in-demand customer service and admin support skills. The other nine skills in this list are General Virtual Assistance, Data Entry, Digital Project Management, General Research Services, Tech Support, Dropshipping & Order Processing, Community Management, Market Research and Transcription. Freelancers across Pakistan are involved in offering creativity-based services through digital platforms. The 10 in-demand design and creative skills for 2023 include Graphic Design, Video Editing, Illustration, 3D Animation, Presentation Design, Image Editing, Cartoons & Comics, Product & Industrial Design, 2D Animation and Video Production. Learning a skill is one aspect, how to use it to earn is a whole different strategy. Those who have an interest in the above-mentioned skills should learn more about them through online courses (paid and free) and by watching video tutorials available on YouTube. The youth must involve themselves in learning skills and using them to earn through freelancing. They may even collaborate with like-minded freelancers to create a start-up. They may use specific websites where buyers and sellers interact or may use their social media platforms, e-mail marketing, and WhatsApp. To learn a skill, one needs to show interest and create a plan. This plan entails short-term and long-term objectives. In the short-term, one needs to identify how to give time to skills development when one has to complete studies or go to the office. In the long run, one must carve out a strategy for engaging their market and audience, what services to offer and what business model to pursue. Learning a skill is one aspect, how to use it to earn is a whole different strategy. Freelancers can pursue a five-point plan. First, identify your interest and specify the skills that are related to your interest. Second, conduct in-depth research on the various skills. Third, learn these skills and experiment with them by using relevant software to broaden your command over them. Fourth, create a business model of what skills will you offer to a specific, niche market. Fifth, to keep enhancing the skills you have acquired while learning new skills to gain a competitive advantage. The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist.