Traditional engineering schools and workplaces have long prioritized hard skills over soft skills such as critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving. From my experience working as an engineer and hiring them, I’ve seen first-hand this lack of durable skills among these professionals entering the workforce.

As more and more companies recognize the importance of hiring engineers who have both hard and durable skills, a recent report from BCG and SAE about the engineering talent shortage concluded, “Even conventional engineering roles will increasingly require a fusion of hard and soft skills, with T-shaped skill profiles that include both deep knowledge in a specific area and cross-disciplinary expertise.”

Engineers need a strong foundation in durable skills to succeed in today’s workplace (and in life) – and employers need proof that job applicants have actually mastered these skills. Simulation-based learning is a powerful solution that can help employees entering the workforce develop and hone durable skills.

A history of credentialing hard skills

Many engineering disciplines have a strong history of credentialing to demonstrate that a job candidate has received adequate training to perform specific engineering-related tasks. From CompTIA certifications to badges, such as “Microsoft-certified network engineer,” several hard skill certifications already exist in engineering, especially in computer engineering. But there’s not a strong history of credentialing durable skills. This is because, until recently, those skills were not considered requirements for engineers to succeed.

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However, the growing presence of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace is shifting engineers’ roles. As companies rely more on AI to perform engineering tasks, engineers will be called on to use their hard skills less and instead be required to provide management and oversight, which depend on durable skills.

For example, they will need to collaborate with peers to determine the best way to be a “pilot” for their AI tools. This will require engineers to tap into durable skills such as communication, problem-solving, and leadership as they work with others to ensure that they’re using the AI tools efficiently and effectively.

When it comes to training, piloting AI is similar to piloting a plane: the best way to prepare for the real thing is to practice extensively on a simulator.

How simulations teach durable skills

Durable skills have to be taught, practiced, and mastered differently than hard skills.  If an average computer engineering student were taught the syntax of JavaScript, given some examples, and asked to answer some questions about it, they would be trained enough to start doing some coding. However, if that same student watched videos defining a durable skill, such as critical thinking, they wouldn’t be as prepared to begin using it immediately. Learners need to practice applying durable skills in professional scenarios in order to master them.

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Many online courses claim to teach durable skills, but they’re not always relevant. Out of curiosity, I recently took a short course on project management, thinking it would take me through a simulation such as running a scrum team. Instead, it simply described project management and asked me to parrot back what I had learned—without allowing me to practice and apply project-management skills.

In contrast to simply being told what project management is, a simulation allows frontline workers to practice project-management skills in real-world scenarios. Simulations that lead to micro-credentials also deliver facilitated evaluations of these particular skills to early-career professionals when they still have time to improve.

Nabbing the efficiency of simulation training

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Simulation training is also cost-effective, especially compared with recruitment costs. Employers can save 70-90%  by upskilling current employees with durable skills instead of recruiting and hiring someone new, and PwC found that companies can lower their training costs by 52% by switching from in-person training to a virtual simulation model. While simulations are effective for helping people master soft skills, they also can be used to teach hard skills. At Muzzy Lane, we have partners who have successfully built and applied simulation content in technical fields like mechanical engineering, thermodynamics, and fluid vector mechanics. I tell employers and learners to think of these credentials as virtual internships that provide a credible, pedagogically-supported certificate that can follow employees throughout their career and gives hiring professionals the measurable needed for an assessment.

In today’s engineering workplace, especially in the age of AI applications, employers should be hiring for durable skills. Some of our reseller partners offer durable skills training as part of employee onboarding, alongside any hard-skill training employees need to excel in their new or developing job positions. Like pilots preparing for their first flight, engineers who have repeatedly used simulations to practice these skills, have been tested on their abilities, and improved their performance will not only feel more confident. They’ll be better employees.