In a world shaped by rapid technological change, soft skills such as empathy, teamwork, communication, and resilience are becoming just as essential as literacy and numeracy. SoMi’s August 2025 white paper explores why these skills are fundamental to future employability, productivity, and wellbeing – and why education systems must rebalance their focus to prioritise them from the earliest years.
The paper highlights a pressing gap in UK primary education and makes the case for group music making as a uniquely powerful way to nurture soft skills. Drawing on global research, UK policy, and evidence from schools, it demonstrates how collaborative music experiences can transform confidence, collaboration, and creativity in children.
For education leaders, policymakers, and practitioners, this white paper sets out both the urgency and the opportunity: to embed soft skills development, through music, as a core outcome of primary education.
👉 SoMi – The Indispensable Role of Soft Skills in the Future of Education (PDF)
