Insights from the CEO

The mismatch between what schools certify and what companies look for is no longer only about curricula, but about the observable behaviors through which soft skills are expressed. In recent years, the main international reports have converged on one point: critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and adaptability carry as much weight, if not more, than technical skills in recruitment and talent development processes.

According to the latest Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum, by 2030 about 23% of global roles will be transformed by the adoption of technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation, and digitalization, with a net creation estimated at 78 million new jobs. In this scenario, the skills expected to grow the most are the cognitive and relational ones: analytical thinking, resilience, flexibility, and the ability to collaborate in complex environments.

At the same time, the labor market is shifting toward a skills-first paradigm: it matters less where a skill was learned and increasingly how it is expressed and applied in real contexts. So-called soft skills, or, in the OECD definition, social and emotional skills, are directly associated with employability, salary levels, and career trajectories over a lifetime. Yet they remain the most difficult to document objectively: everyone claims them on their résumé, but very few can demonstrate them through data and observable behaviors.

Among other studies, a McKinsey research project on the transition from education to employment, conducted with over 8,000 young people, educational institutions, and employers across Europe, highlights a significant perception gap in skills preparedness. While the majority of institutions (74%) believe their graduates are ready for the labor market, only a minority of companies (38%) and students themselves (35%) share that view. Among the skills employers consider most critical are collaboration, communication, and the ability to work effectively in teams.

A recent European survey of job-seeking youth also highlights a perception gap: candidates tend to give themselves high scores in adaptability, rapid learning, initiative, and creativity, while scoring lower in specific competencies and teamwork. Companies, on the other hand, identify collaboration and the ability to work in teams as some of the most critical weaknesses among candidates.

Faced with this misalignment, an increasing number of organizations are integrating tools into their recruitment processes that can observe behavioral skills in action.

This is the direction taken by Wisepath. Our SkillQuest Behavioral Intelligence Solution uses mainstream video games to capture signals related to decision-making, collaboration, and pressure management, transforming them into comparable and immediately actionable soft-skill indicators.

The goal is to shift the focus from what people claim they can do to how they actually behave when they need to make decisions or interact with the rest of the organization. By integrating these data into guidance, recruitment, and development processes, schools and companies can move from generic narratives about soft skills to evidence-based decisions, strengthening the bridge between classroom and workplace precisely where it has remained invisible until now.

The point, therefore, is no longer whether soft skills matter or not, the data clearly show that they do. The real question HR leaders, recruiters, and CEOs should be asking is another: how much longer can we afford to evaluate them without tools that make them observable?

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