According to the Future of Jobs Report, one of the skills expected to rise significantly in importance between 2025 and 2030 is creative thinking.

Participants in Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution’s Internship and Career Days – logistics management company GTS transportas, one of the largest food and feed production companies in Lithuania Kauno grūdai, and German IT services leader Datagroup – together with the Head of Kauno kolegija’s Entrepreneurship and Creativity Centre, ideaPoint, share insights into the growing importance of creativity and why this competency is essential far beyond traditionally creative professions.

A core competency for staying competitive

Romualdas Burža, Director of GTS transportas, is convinced that creative thinking is crucial for specialists across a wide range of fields. In his view, it is the ability to see things differently, search for new solutions, and adapt to change.

‘Even an engineer or accountant can apply creativity when looking for a more efficient way to complete a task, creating a new process, or solving an unexpected problem. Creative thinking frees a person from relying on a single ‘correct’ answer and encourages flexibility – something that is highly valued in today’s fast-changing world,’ says R. Burža.

He believes the relevance of creativity will only continue to grow, as technology, artificial intelligence and automation increasingly take over repetitive, logical tasks. As a result, employees will be expected to excel in areas machines cannot: generating original ideas, showing empathy, and connecting knowledge from different fields to create something new.

‘Creativity is becoming not only a personal trait but one of the key competencies that helps you remain competitive and stand out in the labour market,’ he adds.

The engine of innovation and technology

Meanwhile, Ernesta Galinienė, Head of Organisational Development at Kauno grūdai, notes that creative thinking is not only about generating something entirely new, but also about doing familiar things in a new way. This competence, she says, is important in every organisation, as a creative thinker can find solutions to complex situations more quickly, reach agreements where none seemed possible, and identify non-standard approaches when established models stop delivering results.

‘Creativity helps you view your product or service with fresh eyes, to recognise customer needs in a new way and even anticipate how those needs might evolve. This competence becomes a source of competitive advantage and drives the emergence of innovation and new technologies. It is essential for adapting to a changing world, new professions and emerging activities – making it indispensable regardless of role or sector,’ says E. Galinienė.

She is convinced that the importance of creative thinking will only expand, as ‘the pace of change and degree of uncertainty are so great that there is much we simply do not know – and will not know. We have to think ahead, because creative thinking is also about imagining the future. It means being able to act when there are no clear instructions, answers or tried-and-tested scenarios.’

E. Galinienė adds that technologies do not necessarily solve problems for employees; in fact, they often create more complex challenges that require creative solutions – such as how to retrain people whose roles are being replaced by artificial intelligence. While AI can handle routine tasks, creative, strategic and empathetic thinking remains uniquely human.

‘Many products and services already exist. To grow businesses, we cannot simply copy; we must discover our own new angle – and that requires strong creative thinking. The ability to innovate is a vital engine for every activity. Companies are now consciously building innovation teams and involving employees in developing new activities and products. As a result, businesses will place even greater emphasis on fostering this competence,’ she explains.

The importance of creative thinking in the age of artificial intelligence

Henrikas Šepetys, Technical Director at Datagroup Operations, says that creative thinking is important even when working in highly technical or structured jobs, as it helps solve challenges, look at a situation from a different perspective, and find innovative solutions. This, he says, allows employees to quickly adapt to changes, improve processes, and achieve better results.

‘Creativity will become even more important as automation and artificial intelligence take over routine tasks. Human creativity will be the key differentiator for innovation and value creation. At Datagroup, fostering creative thinking is essential to develop unique solutions and remain agile in a competitive and fast-changing market. Creativity has always been important and will never become less important when trying to adapt artificial intelligence for business. It helps to answer questions like: How to do that, but not: How you would actually want it to be?’, says H. Šepetys.

ideaPoint – where student creativity takes shape

To ensure entrepreneurial and creative competencies are integrated into all aspects of learning, Kauno kolegija established the Entrepreneurship and Creativity Centre, ideaPoint. The centre hosts a variety of training sessions, seminars and workshops to help students develop creative thinking and entrepreneurial skills.

‘We cultivate the creativity of Kauno kolegija students in a comprehensive way – both through their studies and through additional initiatives. Our centre has a team of 15 lecturers who teach the same module, Creativity and Entrepreneurship, to students from different faculties. It has become compulsory for most, meaning creative thinking is now at the heart of all studies rather than a supplementary skill,’ says Head of ideaPoint Goda Kacilevičiūtė.

She explains that the centre also works systematically to create an environment rich in creative stimuli. Workshops are held with Lithuanian and international experts in design thinking, innovation and creativity. One recent example was Jay Johnson, a creativity coach from the United States, who led sessions for the Kauno kolegija community a few weeks ago.

‘The annual reHack event is another key platform for fostering creativity. Students not only generate ideas but also learn to tackle challenges linked to sustainability, the circular economy and technological innovation. The event’s interdisciplinary nature shows how creativity emerges precisely at the intersection of diverse competencies,’ notes G. Kacilevičiūtė.

Students wishing to continue developing their ideas can join the mentoring programme. One of the newest teams – the reHack winners, International Business students – have created a practical, technologically advanced reusable cargo tarpaulin adaptable to pallets.

‘Often, the most creative solutions do not originate from programmes directly associated with the arts or creativity. In reality, nearly every field involves creativity in one way or another – whether a marketing specialist designing a strategy, a technologist solving a technical challenge, or a social sciences student shaping a new perspective. Creativity becomes the link connecting different disciplines and helps students grow into thoughtful, future-ready professionals,’ says the Head of  ideaPoint.

G. Kacilevičiūtė emphasises that creativity helps address a wide range of challenges – from everyday organisational issues to complex, multifaceted problems. It enables decision-making in uncertain situations, encourages flexibility and makes it possible to generate solutions quickly when traditional methods fall short.

‘A street artist who visited one of our events gave a brilliant example: sometimes the wall chosen for a mural is physically inaccessible and standard tools simply will not do. That is where the creative process begins – the artist must not only create the artwork but also devise the tools needed for the job, perhaps constructing an improvised extension arm or developing an entirely new solution,’ she explains.

‘This example perfectly captures the essence of creativity: it is not only about what to create, but how to do it. It is a very practical, necessary competence in everyday work – helping everyone from artists to engineers and healthcare specialists to improvise, adapt and act in the moment.’