Background: Soft skills, defined as interpersonal and situational competencies, are increasingly recognized as crucial for employability in the labour market. Recent studies have highlighted that soft skills such as effective communication, problem-solving, time management, and teamwork are essential for professionals. This project aims to identify the most relevant soft skills for employability in the European labor market and to provide an overview of the transversal competencies more required by employers.
Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted using Scopus and PsycINFO, following the PRISMA guidelines. Studies published between 2008 and 2024 were included. Data were extracted and analyzed to identify key soft skills more requested by employers in the European labour market context.
Results: The search identified 21 relevant studies describing different soft skills from different point of view: graduated students, HR and employers. The results indicate that the most relevant soft skills for employability include communication, creativity, teamwork, resilience and interpersonal skills.
Conclusions: This systematic review highlights the importance of soft skills for employability in the European labor market and the need to integrate these competencies into educational curricula and professional training programs. Future research should further explore the effectiveness of development training for the soft skills improvement.