Overview
How can we best equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in today’s workplace? And which skills do employers prioritize during the hiring process?
For answers, Urban Alliance Chicago and the Britebound Center for Career Navigation at Jobs for the Future (JFF) applied a framework centered on resilient skills, the competencies that enable people to perform, persist, and adapt in the face of change. We surveyed 86 employer partners across a range of sectors for insights on which resilient skills employers want, and how young people can demonstrate and signal competence in them:
- Problem-solving and adaptability top the list of most valued skills, and they also rank among the areas employers find most lacking, suggesting that young people often need more experience applying these capabilities in complex, real-world contexts.
- Digital skills badges may be helpful, but only if they come with evidence and verification.
- Employers who document and validate skill development among early-career employees can strengthen their own talent pipelines.
The framework reflects the realities of a rapidly evolving labor market where technological disruption, shifting job demands, and economic uncertainty require workers who can continuously learn and recover from setbacks. The survey examines how employers define and prioritize these resilient skills and identifies the most credible ways for young people to demonstrate and signal competence in them during the hiring process.
We focused on 10 resilient skills frequently cited by employers as essential for early-career success:
- Adaptability: Adjusting effectively to changing circumstances, priorities, or environments.
- Problem Solving: Identifying issues, analyzing root causes, and implementing effective solutions.
- Collaboration: Working productively with others to achieve shared goals.
- Reliability: Consistently meeting commitments and producing dependable work
- Written Communication: Conveying ideas and information effectively through writing.
- Verbal Communication: Clearly expressing ideas and information through spoken language.
- Demonstrating Initiative: Taking proactive steps to address challenges or opportunities without being prompted.
- Persistence: Sustaining effort and focus to overcome obstacles and achieve long-term goals.
- Decision Making: Evaluating information and options to make sound, timely choices.
- Creativity: Generating innovative ideas or approaches to solve problems.
These skills were selected not only because they are valued across industries, but also because they form the foundation for how young people navigate opportunity itself, make informed decisions about career pathways, sustain effort in pursuing those pathways, and perform effectively once on the job. Together, these skills enable young people to build the confidence and agility required to thrive in a rapidly changing labor market.
Problem-solving and adaptability: in demand, but underdeveloped
The response was 86 employer partners in Chicago, representing a wide range of sectors, including health care, government, public safety, staffing and recruitment, nonprofit, tech, and financial services.
We asked which resilient skills are most critical for young adults entering the workforce. Employers identified the following as most important skills:
- Adaptability (44)
- Problem Solving (40)
- Collaboration (37)
- Taking Initiative (34)
- Reliability (31)
- Verbal Communication (25)
- Persistence (17)
- Decision Making (16)
- Written Communication (13)
- Creativity (5)
Employers’ emphasis on adaptability and problem-solving reflects the realities of today’s rapidly changing workplace, where roles evolve quickly and employees must learn and adapt continuously. Adaptability signals that a young hire can navigate shifting priorities and technologies. At the same time, problem-solving shows the ability to think critically and take ownership of challenges rather than waiting for direction. Collaboration and initiative follow closely behind, underscoring employers’ desire for emerging talent who can contribute productively in team environments and take proactive steps to move work forward without constant supervision. Reliability ranks high because consistency and follow-through remain the foundation of trust in any professional setting, particularly for early-career employees who are building credibility.
We then asked employers which skills are most commonly underdeveloped among early-career talent:
- Problem Solving (45)
- Verbal Communication (43)
- Taking Initiative (40)
- Written Communication (29)
- Adaptability (27)
- Reliability (21)
- Persistence (17)
- Decision Making (16)
- Collaboration (8)
- Creativity (8)
Employers identified many of the same skills as both the most important and the most underdeveloped among young adults entering the workforce, revealing a clear disconnect between expectations and readiness. Problem-solving and adaptability top the list of most valued skills, and they also rank among the areas employers find most lacking, suggesting that young people often need more experience applying these capabilities in complex, real-world contexts. Taking initiative and verbal communication are also frequently cited as underdeveloped, indicating that early-career talent may hesitate to speak up, take ownership, or move work forward independently. Written communication and reliability fall in the middle, reflecting skills that are foundational but inconsistently demonstrated. Overall, employers see the greatest gaps not in motivation or teamwork, but in the applied problem-solving, adaptability, and initiative that define readiness for the modern workplace.
Digital badges need evidence-based backup
Employers were clear: a skills digital badge that signifies acquisition and readiness is only as valuable as the evidence behind it. The strongest signal was proof of application in real or work-like contexts, followed by trusted verification and supervisor validation. Employers want to know not only what skill is claimed, but who observed it and under what conditions. As one respondent explained, “The badge should show real examples, be backed by supervisor validation, and reflect true job readiness.”
Rigor and growth also matter. Employers emphasized that a badge should document development over time and be earned through a structured process. It should not be a “‘participation’ badge,” but something “earned through a structured process.” Alignment with standards and role relevance strengthens credibility, while portability and peer validation were viewed as helpful but secondary. Overall, employers signaled cautious openness to badges—provided they convey verified, transparent, and job-relevant evidence of performance.
We asked what qualities would make the badge most useful for employers when evaluating candidates:
- Evidence of application: Clear examples of how the skill was applied in a real or work-like context (64)
- Verification by a trusted third party: Endorsement from a recognized organization (e.g., Urban Alliance) (47)
- Demonstrated growth: Evidence that the learner improved the skill over time (42)
- Supervisor validation: Confirmation of skills by a workplace supervisor during the program (41)
- Rigorous assessment: Badge earned through a structured, fair, and competency-based process–not just participant (36)
- Alignment with standards: Connection to established industry or professional competency frameworks (32)
- Role relevance: Explanation of how the skill connects to specific job tasks (23)
- Portable record: Badge can be shared and recognized across employers and contexts (19)
- Peer validation: (Confirmation of skills by fellow participants or colleagues) (8)
In an open-ended question about how students should signal competencies such as problem solving and adaptability, employers returned to a consistent principle: show, don’t tell. The strongest signals come from “real situations from their internships—like times they solved a problem, adapted quickly, or handled themselves professionally,” and from “evidence of these skills through specific actions, experiences, and outcomes.”
Tangible artifacts such as portfolios, capstone projects, and case studies were viewed as powerful because they provide “tangible evidence of a student’s abilities beyond what’s listed on a resume.” In an era when resumes, cover letters, and even interview responses can be AI-assisted, a portfolio that reflects original work and documented problem-solving can serve as a meaningful differentiator. Employers also stressed articulation—framing resumes around skills rather than job titles and using structured examples in interviews. As one respondent summarized: “Name them and then provide examples.”
Third-party validation further strengthens credibility. Supervisor evaluations, mentor feedback, and LinkedIn endorsements signal that skills were observed in real workplace settings. Employers also emphasized intentional growth: students who set goals, track progress, and describe how they improved demonstrate maturity and self-awareness.
Organizations were then asked whether they would be open to recognizing a skills badge during the hiring process: 12 strongly agreed, 38 agreed, 4 disagreed, and 34 were not sure. While a majority expressed openness, the large share of employers who were unsure suggests that adoption will depend on whether badges consistently demonstrate real competency in ways that align with existing hiring practices.
Creating skills development in early-career work
Employers play a central role in shaping how young people develop and demonstrate resilient skills. The survey findings make clear that employers value observable performance, credible validation, and clear articulation of growth. Internships are among the most powerful environments for building and documenting these capabilities.
Make Skills Visible in Daily Work.
Early-career experiences should serve as structured learning environments, not just task assignments. Employers can strengthen skill development by naming the resilient skills embedded in everyday work and connecting tasks to broader competencies such as adaptability, initiative, and problem-solving.
Simple practices matter:
- Identify the skills being developed when assigning work.
- Debrief after challenges: What happened? What changed? How did the young person respond? What did they learn?
- Normalize iteration and feedback as part of the learning process.
When supervisors make skills explicit, young people are better able to recognize and later articulate their growth.
Create Experiences That Require Application.
Employers consistently emphasized that skills must be demonstrated under real conditions. Early career experiences should include opportunities where interns must navigate ambiguity, shifting priorities, or collaborative problem-solving.
Practical design elements include:
- Assigning ownership of a discrete project with evolving expectations.
- Rotating exposure to different teams or stakeholders.
- Incorporating structured reflection tied to real workplace moments.
Resilient skills grow through application, especially when challenge is paired with support.
Use Behavioral Evaluation, Not Just Task Completion
Assessment should capture how young people approach work, not only what they produce. Employers can reinforce resilient skill development by using short, behavior-based feedback tools tied to observable indicators such as initiative, communication, adaptability, and reliability.
Effective approaches include:
- Midpoint and final check-ins focused explicitly on skill growth.
- Supervisor comments that describe specific observed behaviors.
- Final presentations or portfolios that require interns to explain a challenge, their response, and the outcome.
This type of evaluation strengthens both learning and the young person’s ability to articulate how they apply their skills.
Strengthen the Signal.
Because employers value verified, contextualized evidence of performance, internship programs should intentionally produce artifacts that help young people communicate what they learned.
This may include:
- Supervisor-validated evaluations, including public recommendations on LinkedIn.
- A capstone project or portfolio artifact.
- Structured reflection using clear examples.
- A company-issued digital badge tied to transparent criteria and demonstrated performance.
The signal must be anchored in substance. When internships generate credible documentation of applied skills, they become powerful tools in hiring.
Verification and communication build strong pathways
The survey findings are clear: employers value evidence of real performance, verified by trusted adults, and clearly articulated by the young person. When early career experiences are intentionally designed to teach, apply, and assess resilient skills, they produce stronger candidates and clearer hiring signals. Employers who document and validate applied skill development not only improve how young people demonstrate readiness; they also strengthen their own talent pipelines, build internal mentorship capacity, and gain deeper insight into emerging talent. Designed with intention, early career experiences become structured pathways into adaptable, work-ready professionals.
