King's College London

The Prince's Trust's new Results for Life report reveals that soft skills such as teamwork, communication and confidence are considered by young people, teachers and employees to be as important to achieving success in life as good grades. 

As a leading centre of education research and teacher education, the School of Education, Communication & Society were asked by the Prince's Trust to comment on the report. Dr Simon Gibbons, Director of Teacher Education at King's College London said:  

"This is a significant report that highlights concerns around the development of soft skills in pupils and new entrants to the world of work. It’s likely that the focus on outcomes from terminal examinations has pushed the development of soft skills to the margins of many pupils’ educational experience. The report calls for schools to do more to develop young people’s confidence and communication skills; the findings suggest the vast majority of teachers would support such moves.”

The survey found:

• 43% of young people don’t feel prepared to enter the work force, with many worried that they lack confidence and soft skills

• 72% of employees don’t think they had all the soft skills they needed to do well when they first entered the workplace

• 91% of teachers think schools should be doing more to help students develop soft skills

Read more about the research.

Access the Results for Life microsite.