Transferable skills: an underestimated lever for evolving and innovating in business

Les transferable skills, or softskills, combine know-how and interpersonal skills that can be used in various professional contexts, regardless of the sector or profession. They include adaptation, team spirit, problem solving, the time management and relational qualities. These high value-added skills are essential to evolve in a career, whether when looking for a job, internal mobility or a professional retraining.

In a World of work in constant evolution, valuing these skills is essential. They make it possible to adapt, innovate and succeed in varied environments, whether in France or internationally. However, they often remain underestimated, despite their key role in mobility and professional development. For businesses, using these skills in their processes can also optimize their performance.

Businesses should integrate transferable skills In their recruitment strategies and development, thus promoting innovation and the transition between positions while enriching their internal culture.

Understanding transferable skills: definition, challenges, scope

What is a transferable skill?

One transferable skill refers to a capacity that can be used in various professional contexts, regardless of the profession or sector of activity. This may include technical know-how acquired through experience, such as project management or the mastery of digital tools, but also Soft Skills, these behavioral and relational skills such as communication, group work or adaptability.

These skills, once developed throughout the career path, are not limited to a position or a company. They support the person, allowing them to highlight their achievements in new projects or work environments.

Do not confuse: transferable, transversal and specific

It is important to differentiate between these three types of skills. Les transferable skills are skills that can be applied from one context to another, such as team management or problem solving.

Transversal skills, often associated with Soft Skills, concern human and relational qualities such as leadership, creativity oremotional intelligence, which are useful in many professional and personal situations. On the other hand, specific skills (or hard skills) are directly linked to a particular job or function, such as mastering specialized software or sectoral regulations. Thus, the main difference lies in their scope: transferable skills and transversal ones extend beyond a specific field, while specific skills remain attached to a specific activity.

Why are they so valuable today?

Les transferable skills and transversal are particularly sought after by employers in a labour market in constant evolution . They strengthen the employability of candidates, promote internal mobility and facilitate reconversions. So, write a motivation letter Highlighting these assets becomes a winning strategy in the face of recruiters' requirements. By developing skills such as adaptability, change management or communication, each professional can increase their resilience and consider evolving within their company or in new sectors, while remaining competitive on the market.

Know how to identify transferable skills (even when you don't see them)

A necessary approach to evolve

Identifying transferable skills is a fundamental step for any professional wishing to develop their career, consider internal mobility or succeed in a retraining course. This approach is not limited to simple introspection: it requires a structured, sometimes guided approach, combining personal analysis and support. One of the most effective levers for this work is participation in a dedicated workshop (to obtain reliable data). Led by career professionals or HR coaches, these workshops allow participants to retrace their career path, identify significant situations, and extract the know-how and interpersonal skills mobilized in different contexts. These collective exchanges are also an opportunity to confront one's perceptions and to identify skills that we thought were trivial, but that are universally valuable and that make sense.

Rely on concrete resources to better plan

Among the structuring tools, the Operational Directory of Trades and Jobs (ROME) of Pôle Emploi can serve as a basis for mapping its skills. It makes it possible to make the link between the activities carried out and the associated transferable skills, thus facilitating the projection to other functions or areas. In addition, post-action training assessment systems are another relevant way to identify these skills: by analyzing what was actually acquired and used after training, we highlight the skills that can be reinvested elsewhere.

Finally, the identification of transferable skills is fully part of a personal development process. This means taking a step back from your career, getting to know yourself better and valuing your strengths, including those that you don't always highlight (such as resilience, curiosity or active listening). Keeping a professional logbook or conducting a regular self-assessment are simple but powerful practices for strengthening this self-awareness. By combining introspection and support, everyone can thus build a clear vision of their transferable skills — a real passport to seize new professional opportunities.

Take stock of your experiences, your successes, your soft skills

To identify your transferable skills, it is essential to carry out a thorough assessment of your professional and personal experiences. Ask yourself the following questions during this self-analysis exercise:

• What tasks have I completed successfully?
• What situations did I have to adapt to?
• What feedback did I get from my peers or managers?

One Skills assessment carried out by a professional, although optional, can be of great help in retracing your career and identifying the skills you have acquired. In addition, soliciting feedback from your colleagues or superiors allows you to add an objective dimension to your self-assessment and to reveal skills that you may not have identified. You can also use a list to record significant experiences and successes that highlight these transferable qualities.

What is not a transferable skill (and one that is often confused)

It is important to distinguish between transferable skills very specific or perishable knowledge. For example, highly specialized technical skills, such as mastering infrequently used software or regulations specific to an environment, are not necessarily applicable in other professional contexts.

Likewise, certifications or knowledge limited to a single field do not constitute transferable skills. On the other hand, skills such as problem solving, effective communication or team management are universal skills that can be valued in a multitude of professional situations. These qualities represent real advantages for developing a versatile career.

Concrete examples of transferable skills (and definition)

Most popular interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills are among the transferable qualities most sought after by employers because they are essential for working well in a team. Communication, whether oral or written, plays a major role in conveying ideas clearly and maintaining constructive dialogue. For its part, active listening is a major asset for understanding needs and expectations, strengthening trust and promoting effective collaboration.

Teamwork is also highly valued in all areas. It refers to the ability to collaborate effectively, to share information and to adapt to different profiles. Finally, leadership—which involves inspiring, guiding, and motivating a group—is a universal skill. It is particularly evident in the delegation of tasks or the management of conflicts.

Transferable cognitive and methodological skills

Les transferable skills also include cognitive and methodological skills, which are essential in a professional environment in constant evolution. La problem solving, for example, makes it possible to identify challenges, analyze the causes and propose appropriate solutions, whether it is a question of optimizing a process or responding to an unexpected situation.

La time management is an essential skill for organizing work effectively, meeting deadlines and prioritizing tasks according to their importance. Finally, critical thinking, or analytical spirit, facilitates decisionmaking informed, evaluating information and anticipating the consequences of actions taken.

Organizational and operational skills

Les transferable skills also include organizational and operational qualities, which are essential for the success of projects and the fluidity of processes. La project management, for example, involves planning, monitoring and coordinating resources to achieve specific goals, whether in the private, public or voluntary sectors.

Prioritization is a key skill in dealing with multiple imperatives and optimizing the use of time. Coordination consists in orchestrating the various actors around the same objective, while ensuring the cohesion of the group. Finally, crisis management is particularly valuable in times of turmoil. It is based on the ability to keep your cool, analyze the situation quickly and make decisions under pressure.

How businesses can use transferable skills

An internal talent pool that is often ignored

Les transferable skills are a driver of innovation and performance that is still too often overlooked by employers. However, the internal mobility is a powerful tool for retaining employees and developing their skills, rather than systematically turning to external recruitment. Upskilling (skills improvement) and reskilling (skills reskilling) allow organizations to adapt their human resources to new business challenges.

La installation of a precise mapping of skills or of an approach to Predictive Job and Skills Management (GPEC) can help identify hidden talents and anticipate future business needs.

Facilitate internal retraining to retain talent

Valuing the transferable skills makes it possible to create bridges between different professions, promoting more fluid and rewarding careers. Rather than focusing only on degrees or experience in a specific field, businesses can focus on the potential and agility of their collaborators. This approach simplifies career management and encouragesprofessional development, while reducing the risk of disengagement.

By offering new perspectives throughout the career path, organizations also ensure that their star talents remain motivated and loyal.

Recruiting differently thanks to transferable skills

In an innovative approach to interviews, some companies now prefer recruitments without a CV, focused on skills rather than on academic background. Competency-based assessment and the valorization of Soft Skills during interviews make it possible to diversify profiles and to attract candidates with atypical trajectories.

Ce Recruiting method, based on transferable skills, offers more flexibility and promotes professional inclusion. It highlights the ability to learn and adapt, rather than experience in a similar position, and makes it possible to detect potentials that could go unnoticed with traditional methods.

Towards a business strategy focused on transferability

From the individual to the learning organization

The ability of a structure to evolve is based on the transformation of individual skills into collective strengths. Decompartmentalize functions, encourage internal mobility and promoting interpersonal skills are all actions that promote the emergence of a genuine learning organization.

Establish a culture where each employee can enrich their transferable skills and sharing them with peers helps create a positive dynamic. In this context, continuous learning becomes an essential driver of performance and innovation.

Integrating transferable skills into training paths

Adapt training systems to explicitly incorporate transferable skills is a key step. The most agile organizations favor transversal training, which goes beyond the limits of a profession or a service. They are building hybrid courses combining technical development, Soft Skills and cross-mentoring.

These courses promote the acquisition of new skills and encourage cross-fertilization between groups. This reinforces both the employability and the commitment of employees.

A competitive advantage in an uncertain market

The valorization of transferable skills within a company represents a real competitive advantage, especially in an uncertain market context. Thanks to collective agility and the use of the qualities already acquired by employees, teams adapt more quickly to changes and better anticipate the needs of the sector. This sense of adaptability is also valuable in developing leaders capable of meeting the challenges of tomorrow.

By rethinking talent management through managerial innovation, with an emphasis on versatility and learning, businesses can also improve talent retention. They thus offer each employee the opportunity to evolve, to retrain or to take up new professional challenges.

Conclusion and advice

Les transferable skills represent a major asset for innovating and progressing within companies. They allow professionals to adapt to market changes, take on new challenges and enrich their career paths. For structures, highlighting these skills helps to promote internal mobility, to retain talent and to strengthen their strategic agility.

Start identifying your transferable skills, use them in your projects and encourage your teams to do the same. It is an essential step to increase your employability and transform each stage of your professional life into an opportunity for growth.

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