What employers want: The “must-have” soft skills for entering the labor market

Frame of the research: In the contemporary labor market, it is imperative for recent graduates to possess a diverse set of non-technical competencies alongside their specialized technical proficiencies. Drawing on the existing literature on education, training, and strategic human resource management, this study seeks to fill a gap in the current literature and offer insights and practical implications, especially for universities that are considered the most responsible for the employability of young graduates. Purpose of the paper: This study was set within the Italian context and focused on the perspective of employers. The aims were to identify the essential soft skills necessary for facilitating the smooth transition of young graduates to the workforce, assess employers’ satisfaction levels regarding graduates’ proficiency in these skills, and delineate the disparity between the perceived importance of each skill and the level of satisfaction among employers, thereby identifying the gaps in soft skills proficiency and consequently highlighting priority areas of intervention for the stakeholders involved. Methodology: We administered a survey to managers from companies operating within Italy who have worked with recently onboarded personnel, specifically recent graduates. We contacted potential respondents via email to invite them to participate in the survey. Ultimately, our sample comprised 392 managers representing various industries and organizational sectors. Findings: We ranked soft skills according to their importance and satisfaction. Furthermore, we highlighted the significant gaps (importance-satisfaction) for all 25 soft skills. Finally, we organized our results into a four-quadrant matrix of importance-satisfaction: 1. High-priority reinforcement (low satisfaction and high importance), 2. Consolidate as stars (high satisfaction and high importance), 3. Future investment in the job (low satisfaction and low importance), and 4. Low-priority maintenance (high satisfaction and low importance). Research limitations: This study focused only on managers’ perspectives and did not consider the perspectives of universities or students. Practical implications: Our findings provide universities with directives concerning areas necessitating intervention and the requisite actions for enhancing graduates’ soft skills, as mandated by employers. Furthermore, the study has managerial implications, guiding them in the identification of the requisite soft skills required for workforce entry and tailoring personnel selection and training processes accordingly. Additionally, this research extends support to students by aiding in their preparation to fulfill employers’ requirements. Originality of the paper: This study makes a substantial contribution to the literature by bridging the research gap related to the soft skills essential for recent graduates to successfully navigate into the Italian workforce. Through the identification of specific areas or sets of soft skills applicable across diverse industries and adaptable to multidirectional career paths in the contemporary 21st-century workspace, our research provides valuable insights for both academia and industry practitioners.