Give students space to practise the soft skills they’ll need for the workplace

Ask employers what they want from graduates and many people still expect the answer will be technical knowledge, academic excellence and specialist expertise. But increasingly, this is the opposite of what we hear.

One of the first things companies talk to us about now is soft skills, and this is a conversation my team is having regularly with employers across a variety of sectors. Of course, technical skills are still important, but organisations are beginning to both understand and assume that graduates will continue learning throughout their careers. 

What distinguishes one candidate from another is often their ability to communicate, solve problems, work with others and adapt as circumstances change.

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This shift should be making universities pause and think carefully about what employability really means.

It’s tempting to see soft skills as an optional extra, or something students will naturally acquire as their studies progress. However, our experience suggests that collaboration, resilience, networking and learning agility all need to be practised repeatedly in authentic situations before students enter into the workplace.

Adaptability is crucial

Of all these qualities, perhaps the most important skill is adaptability.

Students are graduating into organisations that are changing almost as quickly as the technology they use. AI is reshaping roles across every discipline, hybrid working has altered expectations around collaboration and many employers are rethinking traditional hierarchies. 

New graduates aren’t just expected to fit into these environments – they must be prepared to contribute ideas, question assumptions and help improve the way that work is done.

Even understanding the value-add of AI has become part of employability. 

And this is not a conversation just for computer scientists or engineers. Graduates working in human resources, customer service or marketing are expected to have the knowledge required to automate routine tasks, analyse information differently or identify opportunities that will improve existing processes. 

Employers aren’t asking if students use AI. They want to know how they’re applying it intelligently and creatively. Capabilities like these can’t be developed through lectures alone.

At my university, we’re deliberately creating opportunities for our students to experience uncertainty. Work-based learning projects place them inside real organisations tackling real business challenges, rather than just working through hypothetical case studies. They might end up helping a company redesign an internal process, contribute to a digital project or support a community cooperative looking to grow its business.

The technical challenge component is only one part of the experience.

Students quickly find they need to listen before offering solutions, communicate effectively with people whose expertise is quite different from their own and adapt their approach as and when circumstances change. These are the moments where confidence grows and employability moves from the theoretical to the practical.

We’ve seen this approach deliver tangible results. In one recent partnership an employer identified a shortage of specialist technical skills in the local market. Rather than waiting for graduates to acquire these capabilities after entering employment, the company worked with us to design and deliver a targeted boot camp led by one of its own experts. 

Students gained highly sought-after technical skills while working on real business challenges, while the employer was able to identify and engage with talented students early, creating a stronger long-term recruitment pipeline. 

This same philosophy runs through extracurricular activities and entrepreneurship programmes.

Students lead clubs, organise events, participate in hackathons and collaborate with team-mates they don’t choose themselves. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many tell us that group projects are among the most challenging parts of their university life. Different personalities, expectations and levels of commitment inevitably create friction, but this is exactly what happens in professional life.

Learning how to navigate disagreements, build consensus and deliver a shared outcome is every bit as valuable as mastering a particular software package or technical process.

The same philosophy underpins initiatives such as Venture Adventure, where student entrepreneurs present their business ideas to venture capitalists, founders and industry experts. The experience isn’t simply about developing successful start-ups. Students learn to communicate under pressure, defend their thinking, respond constructively to challenging questions and build the confidence and resilience that employers consistently tell us they value. 

The employer connection

Remaining connected to employers is equally important. Educators can’t simply assume they know what industry needs simply because a curriculum happened to be relevant a few years ago. 

We regularly speak to senior leaders, as well as HR professionals, hiring managers and team leaders who work with graduates every day. Alumni provide another invaluable perspective, often giving us the most honest assessment of where they felt well prepared and where they wished their abilities had been developed further.

This feedback enables us to respond quickly. Sometimes the outcome might be introducing targeted boot camps, networking opportunities or professional development sessions focused on a particular capability that employers consistently identify as important. In many ways, we find that employers are facing exactly the same challenges.

Maintaining these relationships also creates opportunities for students long before graduation. We regularly bring employers, entrepreneurs and alumni on to campus for networking events, coaching students beforehand on how to introduce themselves professionally, build meaningful connections and follow up afterwards. These experiences help students develop confidence while expanding the professional networks that increasingly lead to internships and employment opportunities.

What should educators do?

There’s no universal blueprint for developing soft skills, but three lessons have consistently shaped our own approach.

The first is to stay much closer to employers than many institutions traditionally do. Board members, hiring managers and those supervising graduates daily are often the first to spot changes in workplace expectations.

The second is to listen carefully to alumni. As critical friends, they want future students to succeed, and their experiences often reveal gaps that can be impossible to identify from inside the institution.

Finally, educators need to become more agile themselves. If employers consistently identify a missing capability, there’s no reason to wait years for a curriculum review. Short boot camps, networking events, work-based projects and targeted professional development activities will often address a skills gap far more quickly.

Ultimately, employers are seeking graduates who can learn, collaborate and adapt as jobs evolve around them. Universities should be doing exactly the same.

Hanene Duprat is executive director of employability and entrepreneurship at Al Akhawayn University.

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