Why “soft” skills are the new “hard” skills

By Rachel Wernick, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development, Canada.

This "My Take" was written for Future-proofing the labor force, Trend #3 in the Government Trends 2022 report.

View the Government Trends 2022 report here >

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Even before the pandemic, labor market changes required more workers to improve their skills to transition into new jobs or meet shifting job requirements. The pandemic has increased the scope, scale, and speed of change and amplified the call for skills policies and programs that futureproof the labor force.

As policymakers, we need to approach predictions about which technical skills will be needed in the future and which occupations will disappear, appear, or dramatically change with humility. Our track record on this front is uneven and increasingly challenged by unprecedented disruption, as occupations appear, disappear, and change, seemingly overnight.

We know that foundational and transferable skills—such as writing, digital, collaboration, and problem-solving skills—will continue to be fundamental to all jobs. These skills are necessary for learning all other technical or job-specific skills. While employers refer to these as “soft” skills, improving them can be seen as hard, and many struggle with effectively assessing and integrating these skills into training.

We also know that these skills increase the adaptability of workers and boost labor market resiliency. Workers with low levels of these skills will find it increasingly difficult to maintain a job or transition to new jobs. Importantly, low levels of these skills are concentrated in some populations, many of which were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Improving access to training that improves these skills is essential to reduce the risk of exacerbating existing gaps.

The Government of Canada invested CAD 298 million over three years in the Skills for Success program in our 2021 budget. This reflects a growing recognition that one of the best ways to futureproof the labor force is to ensure workers in all occupations are equipped with strong foundational and transferable skills to weather dramatic and rapid change.

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