At Shortlist Futures, we’ve spent the past five years engaging two million professionals and placing at least nine thousand young people into entry-level roles through various talent programs. The biggest problem isn’t just a lack of meaningful roles but that early-stage professionals don’t always know how to navigate the professional world.
In today’s dynamic economy, the skills that stand the test of time, like communication, critical thinking, and leadership, are more important than ever. These are the durable skills: competencies that remain relevant across roles, industries, and career stages, no matter how technology or job markets evolve.
Our team has a huge amount of practical knowledge from running programs like Mastercard Foundation Associate Program and Energy Access Talent Initiative. Now we’ve consolidated those learnings into a professional development program that positions talent for long-term career success.
Our training is anchored on the durable skills framework designed by Pathsmith. The Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework translates employer demand, sourced from over 80 million job postings, into a clear, structured, and equity-conscious guide for evaluating durable skills among early-career professionals.
The framework is built with a specific audience in mind: early-career individuals, those who are new to the workforce or returning after a significant break, with roughly one year or less of work experience. It includes four levels of performance, described below:
| PHASE | EVIDENCE |
|---|---|
| Emerging | Just beginning to learn and/or acquire the given skill. |
| Developing | • Moving in a positive direction in a professional career. |
| • Still learning with room for growth around the skill | |
| Applying | • Functional knowledge of the skill. |
| • Can apply the skills properly in specific on-the-job settings. | |
| Exceeding | • Can apply the skill naturally, without thinking about it. |
| • Can apply the skill under stressful and/or challenging circumstances |
The old lens that divided capabilities into “hard skills” and “soft skills” no longer clarifies how people actually navigate work. Instead, skills function along a continuum of durability:
We’re building a repeatable, adaptable, high-impact asset around durable skills that elevates our unique viewpoint on what African talent truly needs to succeed in the future of work.
We’ll break down big challenges into "Modules." Each module gives participants complete, practical help on a key professional skill.
Each module includes the following elements for candidates: