On 26 June 2026, the third ProSkills2Work Research Seminar brought together researchers and members of the academic community at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, to discuss new evidence on skills, labour markets, and school-to-work transitions.
During the seminar, Senior Assistant Professor Svetlomir Zdravkov, PhD, Junior Researcher in the ProSkills2Work project, delivered the presentation Tested or Presupposed. Compromises of Worth and the Differential Valuation of Soft Skills, based on an analysis of 24,181 job advertisements from Bulgaria’s largest recruitment platform. The lead discussant was Professor Christian Imdorf, ERA Chair Holder of the ProSkills2Work project.
The research demonstrates that soft skills should not be treated as a single, homogeneous category. While skills such as problem-solving, coordination and adaptability are associated with higher wages, commonly requested qualities such as being responsible, motivated or willing to work are often linked to lower pay.
One of the study’s most notable findings is that the same personal quality may be rewarded in one occupational context while penalised in another. For example, honesty and trustworthiness are associated with higher wages both in skilled trades and in occupations such as cleaning and care work, where employees typically work with a greater degree of autonomy and employers rely heavily on trust.
The presentation sparked a lively discussion on how employers value different types of skills and what these findings imply for skills policies, education and training, and labour market inequalities. The study offers a new perspective on why relational and caring skills are frequently regarded as essential but are not always reflected in wages, arguing that the crucial distinction lies not in the skill itself but in whether employers treat it as something to be actively rewarded or simply taken for granted.
The ProSkills2Work Research Seminars are part of the project’s capacity-building activities, providing a platform for researchers to present and discuss ongoing work on skills, education, and labour market transformations.
