Alexandra Roulet

Non-cognitive skills are increasingly rewarded in labor markets and employers often mention lack of suitable soft skills as a reason for unfilled vacancies. We investigate whether there is a role for public employment services (PES) to intervene to make job seekers’ soft skills more in line with employers’ expectations. In particular, we evaluate, through a large-scale RCT, a two-week soft skills training program for French job seekers and show that the training improves the relevant skills and enhances job seekers’ outcomes, in terms of type of contract, earnings and likelihood to enroll in further training. The training pays for itself for job seekers of more than 50 years old. Our findings highlight the potential of soft skills training in improving job match quality.