Hard tech, soft skills: teaching and testing for talent in a technology-defined workplace

As AI and digital technologies transform workplaces, the skills needed by new graduates are changing fast. Employers now seek individuals who combine technical expertise with human-centric competencies like communication, collaboration, and cultural awareness. Yet, a gap remains between what higher education delivers and what modern employment demands. Traditional teaching and assessment often fall short in preparing learners for today's tech-driven, globally connected work environments. Meanwhile, employers face challenges in identifying and assessing these essential soft-skills, especially at scale.

Our panel of experts will discuss whether learning systems are adequately preparing new recruits for communication demands in this ever-evolving brave new world of work, and whether industry is empowered by accurate assessment tools to select the right people for the job.

Turning to the future, we discuss whether technology might also offer solutions to the very challenges it has introduced. How can teaching and testing leverage technology to foster human communication skills?

Key takeaways:
-Understand the emerging skills gap between graduate capabilities and workplace demands in an AI-driven economy.
-Gain insights from both academic and business perspectives on current challenges in teaching and testing communication skills.
-Explore how technology can support the development of culturally aware and collaborative communication.
-Discover examples of how AI-enabled assessment tools are being applied to evaluate soft skills.
-Learn how higher education institutions and employers can collaborate to better prepare fresh talent for real-world communication needs.

Meet the panel:
Moderator:
-Ms Kamini Taneja, British Council
Panellists:
-Poushali Chatterjee, Head: International Pre-Sales & Talent Development Centre, TCS iON, India
-Umar Farooq, CEO Tech Valley, Pakistan
-Nushrat Ara, Lecturer of English, Institute of Modern Language, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh