• Français
Future Skills Center logo
Français
Polygon Created with Sketch. Home | Research
Research

What Are Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions Saying and Doing? Social and Emotional Skills

Canadian post-secondary institutions are not prioritizing social and emotional skills acquisition for students, despite their growing importance to employers. More emphasis must be placed on ensuring students develop these skills.

Key Takeaways

1

Despite strong employer demand for social and emotional skills (SES) like creativity and problem-solving, post-secondary institutions (PSIs) as a whole aren’t prioritizing them.

2

Only one in five post-secondary strategic plans mention holistic SES development.

3

To prepare students for career success, PSIs must give more weight to social and emotional skills development. To do this, they need to translate SES priorities into applied training and assessment.

Executive Summary

Employers in Canada are increasingly seeking new hires with well-developed social and emotional skills (SES) and are moving away from hiring and rewarding workers based on their technical skills.

However, Canadian post-secondary institutions (PSIs) have not caught up with this shift. A review and analysis of PSIs’ strategic plans reveals a lack of emphasis on student acquisition of SES, with such instruction largely relegated to elective and extra-curricular activities. This issue is common to both universities and colleges.

PSIs must do more to equip graduates with the social and emotional skills they will need to succeed and thrive in the workplaces of today and tomorrow, and this focus must begin at the strategic level.

Related Content

Workers inspect solar panels at a renewable energy site with wind turbines in the background.
Research

Powering AI: A Workforce Perspective

  • June 2026
  • Electricity Human Resources Canada
This research project by the Electricity Human Resources Council (EHRC) sought to understand how AI is being adopted across Canada’s electricity sector and the implications for workers. Two fundamental research questions guided this project.
2 Related Reports
Team members collaborating around a desktop computer in a modern office, reviewing work together.
Research

Labour Market Experiences of Canadians with Mental Health Conditions and Cognitive Differences

  • June 2026
  • Environics Institute, Diversity Institute
This project examined how Canadians with mental health conditions and cognitive differences experience and navigate the labour market, and how their outcomes differ from those of workers with no condition.
2 Related Reports
Three colleagues collaborate around a laptop at a table in a modern office workspace.
Research

Advancing Fair Chance Opportunities for Justice-Involved Individuals: A Strategic Intervention with Employers

  • June 2026
  • University of Windsor
This project examined how employers across six major Canadian industries assess and make hiring decisions about applicants with criminal records, and what factors shape barriers and opportunities for fair chance hiring.
2 Related Reports