Soft skills as durable-adaptive capital: industry insights for career construction across the lifespan

Purpose This study analyses the increasing demand for soft skills from an integrated perspective, aiming to explain their function as durable-adaptive capital and enhance evidence-based career guidance and lifelong learning strategies, thereby supporting work adjustment and career construction across the lifespan. Design/methodology/approach Employing a qualitative research design, the methodology triangulated industry perspectives with economic perspectives and vocational psychological framework, grounded in career construction theory regarding adaptive capital. We conducted 42 semi-structured interviews with key industry representatives across dynamic sectors (Information Technology, Commerce and Marketing, and Administration and Management) in Catalonia, Spain, using a thematic analysis approach. Findings Our findings suggest that: (1) intrapersonal self-management skills are chiefly valued for mitigating adaptive capital depreciation in contexts of accelerated technological change, thereby sustaining organisational competitiveness and (2) interpersonal skills reduce the effort and friction of coordination and improve the efficiency of task handoffs in interdependent work settings. Key attributes include how hard they are perceived to be to acquire and how effectively they serve as credible signals of successful adaptation. As such, soft skills can function as critical mechanisms of durable-adaptive capital in response to shifting labour market demands. Originality/value This research introduces a novel, integrated framework that explicitly links economic perspectives with vocational psychosocial adaptation strategies. By expanding the conventional concept of adaptive capital to durable-adaptive capital, this study offers both a conceptual contribution and qualitative, industry-based insights with practical implications for education, lifelong learning and workforce development.