Quick summary: With over one million young people currently out of education, employment, or training, university lecturers warn that institutions must move away from the theatre of employability and refocus on teaching vital human skills. As artificial intelligence continues to automate technical tasks and data analysis, interpersonal qualities such as empathy, deep listening, and relationship building have emerged as the most commercially valuable assets for graduates. Adapting higher education frameworks to prioritize these power skills represents an urgent public policy necessity that is essential towards improving graduate outcomes, enhancing professional well-being, and preparing the workforce for an automated future.
With more than one million young people now not in education, employment, or training, the highest level in more than a decade, experts are warning universities against engaging in the theatre of employability. A Nottingham lecturer and marketing expert says that human skills often labelled as soft skills could become the most valuable career asset of the AI era.
As artificial intelligence transforms recruitment and the workplace, author and university lecturer Si Elliott believes many students and graduates are still being encouraged to focus on technical skills while overlooking the qualities employers increasingly value most.
Elliott is founder of customer experience consultancy Fabricx, bestselling author of Customer Experience Thinking, and an award-winning guest lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, and Communication University of China.
A changing jobs market
“The advice we were giving students even three years ago is already becoming outdated. The graduate jobs market is changing incredibly quickly. AI has accelerated that change, and many students are still being prepared for a world that no longer exists,” says Elliott.
“If your entire value is based on executing tasks, analysing data, or producing reports, AI will increasingly do those things faster and cheaper. The question graduates should be asking themselves is: what can I do that AI can’t?”
Why human skills matter more than ever
“Technology is making the world more connected, but nothing replaces the human experience of being together,” he says. According to Elliott, the answer lies in empathy, communication, relationship-building, and understanding people.
“Degrees matter, but employability is not just about knowledge,” he says. “It’s about whether someone can communicate clearly, build trust, work with others, and make another human being feel understood.”
From soft skills to power skills
Drawing on more than 20 years working in marketing and customer experience, and from his experiences teaching students both in the UK and overseas, Elliott believes the ability to listen deeply, read context, build trust, and communicate effectively is becoming one of the most valuable professional skills available.
Elliott believes universities have an opportunity to place greater emphasis on relationship-building, communication, emotional intelligence, and real-world networking experiences alongside technical capability. He warns that a generation raised in an increasingly digital world risks losing opportunities to develop these capabilities.
“Human connection is like any other skill: it is a professional differentiator,” he says. “If we do not practise it, we lose it. For years we have called these soft skills, but I think we have misunderstood them. In a world where technology can increasingly perform technical tasks, these are actually power skills. They are becoming some of the hardest skills to replicate and some of the most commercially valuable.”
Finding the balance between AI and people
Elliott points to growing evidence that customers still value human interaction despite rapid advances in AI technology. “The businesses that will succeed over the next decade will be those that find the right balance between technology and people,” he explains. “AI is an incredibly powerful tool, but people are what make experiences meaningful.”
His comments come as organisations across the world continue investing heavily in artificial intelligence, while many employers report increasing demand for communication, collaboration, and relationship-building skills.
Earlier this year, higher education leaders warned that universities risk losing credibility if employability initiatives fail to translate into real career outcomes. Research reported by The PIE News found that just 3% of international graduates who secured employment had used university careers services, prompting calls for institutions to focus more heavily on practical employability and relationship-building skills.
The employability challenge facing universities
Universities are under pressure to adapt their approaches amid these shifts in the labour market. Recent data from the Office for National Statistics confirms the scale of the challenge for young people entering the workforce, with NEET figures reaching 1.01 million in the three months to March 2026.
“The future will not be won by people competing against AI,” says Elliott. “It will be won by people who know how to use AI while remaining brilliantly human. Those human skills are no longer soft skills. They are power skills.”