Successful business leaders, entrepreneurs, professionals and scientists have strong foundation in technical knowledge along with real-life experience. But what make them acknowledged in the business world and society are their social skills, behaviour and attitude. Developing and demonstrating these skills early in one’s career can contribute to faster professional advancement. 80% of career success is driven by soft skills, and only 15% is attributed to technical skills, says a Harvard study. There is another saying that you are hired for the hard skills you have but you are fired for the soft skills you lack.

Soft skills are on the top of the list of 21st century skills. According to an article published by Forbes (Yolandu Lau, 2021) mentioned as more and more job activities become automated, soft skills, which cannot yet be replicated by machines, have become more important. In 2017, Deloitte also reported that "soft skill-intensive occupations will account for two-thirds of all jobs by 2030" and that hiring employees with more soft skills could increase revenue by more than $90,000.”

Keeping in view of the future employability skills, Jigyasa University Excellence and Soft Skills Training Centre (Hi-ZEST Centre) came into existence with an objective to impart training to our students to develop 21st century skill set needed for the future professional world. The Hi-ZEST Centre has designed customised training modules for upcoming professionals to develop and inculcate these skills as personality traits. These modules are designed to provide real-life exposure to students so that they become aware about the basic behavioural needs to face the future challenges and adapt to the changing work culture of the professional world.