OPINION | Incorporate soft skills into school curriculum to prepare youth for work

The latest youth unemployment figures released by Stats SA again shine the spotlight on whether our schools are preparing pupils for the challenges of life and work after leaving the classroom.

The unemployment rate for young people aged between 15 and 34 is 44.6%, which means more than four in every 10 young South Africans are not in employment, education or training. If you factor in the expanded unemployment rate (55%) – and a worrying first-year dropout rate of between 50% and 60% from tertiary studies – we look at 7.13-million young people in SA facing a bleak future.

While there are many excellent private and public sector initiatives trying to find solutions to this crippling problem, these initiatives take place once young people have left school.

Preparing young people for success after school means we need to take a serious look at our education system and whether it is adequately preparing young people for the world of work. Yes, academic excellence and performance are critical, but we ignore the vital “soft skills” that equip scholars with the toolkit they need to be successful in their studies and work life.

Soft skills are life skills that should be embedded in the school curriculum from the start. Transferable skills such as adaptability, critical thinking and problem-solving are crucial to succeeding in the workplace and life beyond high school.

Countless studies and surveys have found that employers are now rating these soft skills as the most important skills for workers to have. The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report highlights the skills essential for success in the rapidly evolving job market as analytical thinking, resilience, technological literacy, creative problem-solving and leadership. 

A report by Deloitte says companies looking to grow and thrive in a constantly changing world prioritise “human capabilities” such as curiosity, imagination, creativity, empathy and courage to deliver real results and profitability for organisations.

An analysis of LinkedIn users reported in the Wall Street Journal shows that employers are looking for workers with soft skills, with communication skills topping the list, followed by critical thinking, teamwork, social skills, adaptability and creativity.

Based on these studies and research on the benefits of soft skills, it is evident that schools should incorporate these skills into their educational programmes.

This is how we should be doing it:

• We need to look at how we integrate and use technology to enhance learning. The world is powered by tech, and young people spend time engaging with it. But this does not mean they know how to use it optimally. Digital literacy is the ability to access, manage, understand and evaluate information safely and properly. It's not just about making TikTok videos. It is about navigating our digital world using reading, writing, technical skills and critical thinking.

• Schools should prioritise the development of transferable skills – critical and analytical thinking, interpersonal skills and resilience – that apply across all disciplines. We need to incorporate the concepts of co-operation, responsibility, empathy and self-management into the learning plan.

• Beyond academics, schools must focus on the socioemotional growth of their pupils through daily physical education, life skills programmes and confidence-building activities. Understanding and managing emotions, showing empathy and building positive relationships are skills that help young people grow into compassionate, responsible citizens.

While these skills might sound soft and fluffy, they are real-world learning experiences. Employers are looking at credentials rather than degrees when making hiring decisions. Across the board, real-world skills are seen as the best way to help prepare pupils for success in the workforce.

• Mashele is head of product for high schools at SPARK Schools