{"id":618247,"date":"2026-02-26T20:04:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/618247\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T20:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:04:18","slug":"your-soft-skills-could-be-more-in-demand-than-a-degree-fort-worth-employer-survey-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/618247\/","title":{"rendered":"Your \u2018soft skills\u2019 could be more in-demand than a degree, Fort Worth employer survey finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

The most sought-after skills in Tarrant County<\/a>\u2019s job market might not be taught in a college classroom. <\/p>\n

Employers across the Fort Worth<\/a> region say it\u2019s harder to come by new hires today that can problem-solve or manage other people\u2019s emotions, according to a recent survey of local employers by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce<\/a>. <\/p>\n

As the labor market tightens and artificial intelligence reshapes roles, soft skills have increasingly provided a competitive advantage<\/a> for job seekers. The chamber\u2019s survey of more than 100 local organizations found that interpersonal traits \u2014 communication, critical thinking, adaptability, emotional intelligence and reliability \u2014 trumped job-specific technical skills or credentials in overall importance to employers. <\/p>\n

Fort Worth, like other cities across the state, is trying to find and retain skilled workers as the region grows rapidly. One strategy leaders have embraced is expanding higher education access<\/a> and increasing the number of postsecondary credentials earned by residents. <\/p>\n

The Education Lab<\/p>\n

Receive our in-depth coverage of education issues and stories that affect North Texans.<\/p>\n

By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

But the chamber\u2019s recent findings suggest the region\u2019s workforce challenge is not a credential deficit. The primary shortage is in \u201csoft skills\u201d in new hires and job-seekers, according to the report. <\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Mike Coffey, chair of the chamber\u2019s Talent Committee, which oversaw the report, said he initially hoped the survey would identify in-demand industry-specific knowledge that education and business leaders could quickly create certifications for to \u201cplug people into the workforce quickly.\u201d <\/p>\n

Instead he found most employers needed workers with better \u201cpeople skills, not hard skills you can train in a classroom,\u201d Coffey said at a Fort Worth Chamber workforce summit<\/a> with business and education leaders Wednesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cHow do I go back in time to second grade or first grade and start teaching kids these people skills? How do we develop those up with the current workforce? It\u2019s going to be a bigger challenge than we anticipated,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A slide presented titled \u201cWorkforce Characteristic Comparison: Importance, Availability and Strength\u201d is displayed as Mike Coffey, Talent Committee Chair for the Fort Worth Chamber, speaks during the “Build Your Fort Worth Workforce Summit” at Texas Wesleyan University on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n

Juan Figueroa \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

The survey found about 87% of respondents said critical thinking skills, such as the ability to make tough decisions, were important in a hire. But over half said it was difficult to find candidates with that attribute. <\/p>\n

In comparison, 35% of respondents said a job-specific degree or certification was important. Most employers did not indicate it was hard to find qualified candidates with the appropriate credential. <\/p>\n

Such people skills have always appealed to employers, but non-technical traits and interpersonal skills are shrinking in supply, particularly as a new generation enters the job market, workforce advocates and employers said Wednesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to bring these young people and the emerging workforce up. And it\u2019s a real challenge,\u201d Coffey said. \u201cA lot is going to be on us to change our approach to how we communicate. Maybe our systems are in place for a certain reason, or maybe that\u2019s just how we\u2019ve always done it and we have to be willing to answer those questions.\u201d <\/p>\n

Renee Parker, business services director for Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, said employers have told her that it\u2019s difficult for young professionals to adapt to situations, whether it\u2019s working with different generations or embracing failure. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe see success in a training provider that\u2019s providing technical training and \u2026 embedding an aspect of a failure so they understand how to resolve issues and conflicts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

David Campbell, a senior vice president at Huitt-Zollars, a full-service architectural and engineering firm headquartered in Dallas, regularly gives a soft skills presentation to his colleagues where he outlines the \u201c10 things that require zero talent.\u201d <\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Frost<\/p>\n

On the list include having good body language, being on time and being passionate. He urges colleagues to watch inspirational speaker Simon Sinek\u2019s TED Talk titled \u201cStart with why\u201d<\/a> quarterly to help vocalize their purpose and beliefs. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese are things that I\u2019m looking for in anyone I bring in. I\u2019ll teach them the rest of it,\u201d said Campbell. \u201cBut if I don\u2019t get those, I won\u2019t even start.\u201d <\/p>\n

Larger employers are turning to internal leadership programs and communication workshops to teach new hires these soft skills, according to the chamber\u2019s report. Smaller businesses are implementing coaching and targeted feedback practices. <\/p>\n

Still, the report identified the need for \u201cwidespread, structured implementation\u201d of a process to develop soft skills in Fort Worth residents. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of training providers out there that are great and well capable for technical skills, but I don\u2019t think one training provider can just do power skills or soft skills,\u201d Parker said. \u201cI think it\u2019s our responsibility and employers\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.<\/p>\n

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab\u2019s journalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The most sought-after skills in Tarrant County\u2019s job market might not be taught in a college classroom. Employers…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":618248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,76159,407,65389,7371,7372,420,255,7375,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7987],"class_list":["post-618247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-america","tag-ed-lab-college-careers","tag-education","tag-education-lab","tag-fort-worth","tag-fortworth","tag-jobs","tag-personal-finance","tag-tarrant-county","tag-texas","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-workforce"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116138728905409730","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}