The future of work isn’t about coding or spreadsheets—it’s about durable skills. That’s the takeaway from Plum, the AI-powered pre-hire assessment company that today launched the Plum Durable Skills Index (DSI), 2025 North American Edition.
Drawing from more than 59,000 respondents across 27 industries and 300 job categories, the report quantifies the human capabilities—once dismissed as “soft skills”—that are proving essential to long-term career success.
According to Plum, the rise of automation and AI has exposed a talent blind spot: while technical expertise expires, durable skills endure. These are the cognitive and interpersonal abilities that remain relevant no matter how fast industries evolve.
“Our research reveals that every city has its own signature strengths,” said Caitlin MacGregor, CEO of Plum. “Las Vegas leads in conflict resolution, teamwork, and adaptability, while New York excels in persuasion and embracing diversity. By connecting these durable skills to the jobs best suited for them, we’re helping people make smarter, data-driven career moves.”
Beyond “Soft Skills”: The 10 Core Competencies That Matter
The Plum Durable Skills Index identifies ten attributes most strongly linked to long-term workplace success:
adaptation, communication, conflict resolution, decision-making, embracing diversity, execution, innovation, managing others, persuasion, and teamwork.
These form the backbone of the company’s validated talent model, now used by employers to guide hiring, internal mobility, and leadership development.
The findings also highlight how geography and culture shape skill profiles. Tech hubs such as San Francisco and Boston score high in innovation and decision-making, while emerging business centers like San Antonio and Calgary show rising strengths in execution and adaptability—skills increasingly prized as companies localize their talent strategies.
Measuring What Matters: The Science Behind Plum Role Model™
The DSI is powered by Plum’s Role Model™, an award-winning automated job analysis tool that turns any job description into a behavioral benchmark in seconds. Covering 40,000+ job titles, the AI-driven system reveals which durable skills are most relevant to a given role—whether that’s teamwork in operations, persuasion in sales, or innovation in product design.
Validated across industries, Role Model is explainable, auditable, and defensible—a combination few AI hiring tools can claim. It aims to eliminate the bias-prone “gut feel” that’s long plagued hiring and succession planning.
“We’ve seen the durable skills conversation thrive in higher education,” MacGregor added. “Plum is bringing it into the workplace, where understanding and closing the durable skills gap can be truly transformative.”
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