The current focus on valuing soft skills should not overshadow the growing importance of hard skills.
Defining Soft Skills
What’s the French equivalent for "soft skills"? While hard skills are technical or job-specific competencies tied to a defined profession, defining "soft skills" is trickier. In French, literal translations like compétences douces or molles don’t quite capture the meaning. The term soft here is akin to its use in "soft power" or "soft law"—influences that are undeniably impactful yet indirect, complementing traditional powers of diplomacy or law.
More accurately, soft skills can be described as behavioral skills (how to act within an organization) or transferable skills (useful in various situations, not tied to a specific job).
Rising Awareness of Soft Skills
In recent years, transferable skills have garnered significant attention. They are increasingly seen as critical in today’s professional environment. These skills are even being taught to children, despite formal education traditionally focusing on theoretical knowledge.
Bookstores are filled with personal development guides—some scientific, others less so—while coaches and trainers offer a wide array of seminars on the topic.
This emphasis partly stems from the shift towards a service-based economy, which ostensibly places less value on technical skills. It also reflects a necessary correction in training programs, both in schools and companies, which historically overlooked behavioral competencies.
However, recognizing the importance of soft skills should not come at the expense of mastering hard skills.
Bridging the Gap Between Soft and Hard Skills
An excerpt from the study The French and Professional Training (2022) by Harris Interactive, conducted for the federation Les Acteurs de la Compétence, highlights a significant gap between the widespread emphasis on developing soft skills and the pragmatic skill needs of companies.
Julia de Funès argues that over-prioritizing soft skills risks fostering mediocrity due to a lack of rigor (Soft skills lead us to mediocrity, Julia de Funès – L'Express). While HR departments have increased their focus on personal development and behavioral training, they still dedicate the bulk of their resources to developing technical skills—and rightly so.
Hard skills are indispensable for transferring expertise and maintaining competitiveness. In an increasingly technical and technology-driven world, the demand for strong hard skills is more pressing than ever. Addressing digital and environmental transformations requires robust technical competencies and new job-specific skills.
The skillsets listed in job advertisements are telling.
Skill Demand in Recruitment
In most external recruitment scenarios, technical skills are prerequisites, with soft skills listed as secondary differentiators. For jobs requiring no prior qualifications or experience, recruiters often prioritize candidates' motivation and soft skills, with job-specific training provided afterward.
What About AI?
The widespread adoption of AI-driven applications raises questions about the skills needed to work in environments inevitably influenced by AI.
For those whose jobs are directly linked to AI, strong and constantly evolving scientific skills are critical. Similarly, users of these applications must also undergo training, reflecting the immense need for new technical skills.
The CEDEFOP (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training) has developed detailed skill frameworks (e.g., DigComp) to guide EU member states in defining training policies. Unlike company frameworks that separate job-specific and transferable skills, these frameworks group skills into families (e.g., digital content creation, communication, collaboration), blending competencies of various types that are sometimes hard—and unnecessary—to categorize.
The Ultimate Skill: Learning to Learn
Beyond examples tied to digital transformation, there is broad consensus on the critical need for upskilling. Ultimately, "learning to learn" emerges as the ultimate meta-skill in today’s rapidly evolving environment, enabling individuals to adapt continuously and effectively.