In the 2025 ICT Digital Skills Supply and Demand Gap Analysis Report in Jordan, supervised by the DigiSkills Association, a paradox worth pausing at is revealed: graduates' technical skills scored (3.5 out of 5), while soft skills and professional mindset did not exceed (2 out of 5).
The report points to gaps in communication, teamwork, adaptability, and problem-solving, and mentions that 77% of employers reported that graduates often fall short in these aspects. At the same time, the report clarifies that graduates possess a relatively strong technical foundation, and that the challenge is not related to the quality of technical talents alone, but rather to the systems and the environment surrounding them.
In the work environment, a programmer does not work alone in front of a screen. They must understand what the client wants, explain their idea to a colleague from another specialization, handle feedback, negotiate delivery deadlines, and find a solution when technical vision conflicts with user requirements. Technology does not work in a vacuum; it is operated by humans and for humans.
For this reason, skills in communication, teamwork, flexibility, and problem-solving have become part of professional competence in digital jobs. Technical knowledge may open the door to a job, but the ability to use it within a team, institution, and market is what determines the value of this knowledge.
From a psychological perspective, these skills are not fixed traits people are born with, but rather capacities that can be developed through practice. Self-awareness helps technical workers recognize their strengths and limitations, self-management helps handle pressure, criticism, and changing requirements, while social awareness allows for understanding the needs of clients and colleagues, and relationship management helps solve problems and work within a team.
Remarkably, the report does not suggest addressing the problem solely through the gateway of education; it presents 29 measures distributed across three axes: reforming education and training, activating the labor market, and developing the enabling environment for the sector. Among the proposed measures are integrating soft skills, expanding practical training, enhancing training and employment opportunities, alongside developing the supportive environment for the digital sector.
Here, soft skills become more than just an extra subject in a university program or a training course. They are the capability that allows a graduate to listen, negotiate, cooperate, accept criticism, and handle a problem that has no ready-made solution in a book.
The issue is not about producing a less technical graduate, but rather a graduate with a broader ability to utilize technology. Code is part of the work, but communicating with the person who requested the code, working with the team that will develop it, and solving problems that arise during its implementation are all part of the job itself.
And perhaps here lies the most important message in the report: possessing technical skill does not necessarily mean possessing professional readiness.
