Key Points
Back to top- It’s National SEL Week (March 3-7), a powerful “SEL”ebration of social, emotional, and academic learning in every community! This year’s theme is Skills for Success, Ready for the Future, and we’re spotlighting how SEL builds the foundation for thriving careers, strong communities, and fulfilling lives.
- Hear insights from business leaders at Google, Microsoft, and more about the social and emotional skills they’re looking for—and how these skills help employees thrive at work!
It’s National SEL Week! This year, our theme is Skills for Success, Ready for the Future. Being ready for the future means having the ability to build strong, enduring relationships; pursue and achieve personal fulfillment; engage with and contribute to the community; and forge a rewarding career path.
To explore the skills for success in the workplace, we’ve gathered thoughts from business leaders on how social and emotional learning (SEL) supports thriving at work.
“The world of work is being fundamentally changed by AI. However, the top skills required to navigate complexity and change remain uniquely human with emotional intelligence, cognitive flexibility, and communication referenced as top skills leaders believe will be essential for employees in an AI-powered future. Young people need this blend of social-emotional, technical, [foundational], and higher-order skills.”
Paige Johnson, Vice President of Education, Microsoft
“The future of work demands that we do more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. We must shift our focus to building 21st-century critical skills like design thinking, project-based learning, digital fluency and social-emotional skills.”
Byron Sanders, President and CEO, Big Thought
“At Google, we have some of the most technically impressive people I’ve ever met, but what’s equally important here are social-emotional skills. The world needs more people who can navigate complex challenges with both intelligence and empathy … By equipping students with these essential skills, schools are not only preparing them for potential careers at Google but also empowering them to become thoughtful, responsible, and successful contributors to the world.”
Jennie Magiera, Global Head of Education Impact, Google
“The evidence is clear that social and emotional learning and service-learning supports success in school, the future workplace, and civic life. In the workplace, deep listening, empathy, collaboration, creativity, influencing others, clear communications, and other social skills are equally or more important than technical skills.”
Francie Schnipke Richards, Allstate Social Responsibility and the Allstate Foundation
“Soft skills such as situational awareness and problem solving under pressure, along with qualities like leadership, analytical ability, and interpersonal skills, are crucial for those entering the workforce. … Increasingly, organizations identify candidates who possess strong soft skills and then use certifications to help new employees gain cybersecurity-specific knowledge or to reskill current employees for cybersecurity roles.”
Rob Rashotte, Vice President, Global Training and Technical Field Enablement, Fortinet
“I serve as the national partner in charge of culture at KPMG. It’s one of the big four accounting firms in the world. One of the things we are tremendously focused on is, how do we drive innovation, connection, resilience, agility? The behaviors that are necessary for us to fuel our strategy. The business community needs [SEL] work. We absolutely need this work. This work is so incredibly important to how our professionals show up, how they can be innovative, how they can bring their best selves to work.”
Bill Miller, Partner, KPMG LLP, at the 2024 SEL Exchange
“Some of the most essential skills we look for in candidates are communication, teamwork, leadership, relationship-building, pride, reliability, and dependability. We believe the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back and want candidates to understand and model The Southwest Way and our values for conducting themselves, interacting with others, and succeeding together.”
Greg Muccio, Managing Director of Talent Acquisition, Southwest
“The most successful employees and job candidates will be those who are the most curious—constantly asking questions about how things are done and how things would be different if something were to change.”
Trent Porter, Chief Financial Officer, Breeze Airways
National SEL Week (March 3-7, 2025) is a call to rally together online and showcase the powerful combination of support and evidence for SEL. Join us in celebrating!
Related Posts
- SEL Week 2025—Beyond Borders: An International Service-Learning Experience
- SEL Week 2025: 5 Stories About How SEL Builds a Foundation for the Future
- SEL Week 2025: From Classroom to Career—Why SEL Skills Matter Everywhere
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