Soft skills: students and employers crave

Abstract

This study focuses on soft skills – over-professional competencies that are assessed on a par with professional competencies in today’s world, including for employment purposes. At ITMO University these skills are taught as a separate block of compulsory subjects for students’ choice. The aim of the research was to find out whether teaching soft skills meets the requirements of their future employers. For this purpose, an analysis of vacancies on a popular job search platform was conducted, followed by a public opinion survey of both students and employers. A large-scale study of graduates’ experiences and the labor market in Russia and the Northwestern Federal District in particular was conducted. All the results of the three phases of the work were used to draw conclusions about the development of the study and the application of the results. In general, it was shown that the trajectory of learning and development of soft skills in students should be supported, and future employers appreciate this experience in actual work.