Hard and Soft Skills of Nepali Students: Gaps and Future

Career 30 Nov 2025 50

In the highly competitive world of the twenty-first century, the success of a student or any individual is no longer determined only by academic certificates or degrees. The link to success now depends less on “what you know” (knowledge) and more on “what you can do” (skills).

In Nepal, around 400,000 to 500,000 students enter the labour market every year from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, Pokhara University, Purbanchal University and other universities. Yet employers complain that they cannot find competent human resources, while students keep wandering saying they cannot find jobs.

The main reason for this paradox is the lack of balance between hard skills (technical skills) and soft skills (practical or interpersonal skills) among students. Although Nepali students are studious and hardworking, they are missing something in the overall “package” demanded by the global market and domestic industries.

This article examines these two types of skills among Nepali students in depth. It is based not on imaginary assumptions but on the education system from school to university, the social environment and the demands of the labour market.

Hard and Soft Skills: Conceptual Clarity

Before moving into the analysis, it is necessary to understand these two terms in the Nepali context.

Hard skills

Hard skills are the technical forms of knowledge or competence required to perform specific tasks. They are taught in classrooms, learned through training and can be measured.

Examples: computer programming, accounting, machine operation, data analysis, knowledge of foreign languages and the ability to drive vehicles.

Soft skills

Soft skills are related to a person’s behaviour, personality and way of working with others. They are also called “people skills” or “emotional intelligence”.

Examples: communication skills, leadership ability, time management, teamwork, problem solving and stress management.

Hard Skills among Nepali Students: A Serious Review

If we look only at academic results or marksheets, Nepali students appear to be high achievers. However, when that knowledge has to be applied in the workplace, a large gap appears. The situation is analysed below by sector.

Strong in theory, weak in practice

The strongest side of the Nepali education system is its ability to make students memorise concepts and theories.

Situation: A management student can easily recite the four Ps of marketing. An engineering student can solve complex mathematical formulas.

Problem: But if the same management student is asked to prepare a digital marketing plan for a product and boost it on Facebook, they get confused. If the engineering student is asked to visit a site and check the layout of a beam, they feel afraid.

Conclusion: Nepali students have a good knowledge base in hard skills, but their application base is very weak.

The paradox in the information technology sector

The number of students studying IT in Nepal has increased sharply. Yet, in terms of hard skills, two distinctly different groups of students can be seen.

One group (self-learners): They do not rely solely on college; they learn on their own from YouTube and online courses. Their hard skills (coding, cloud computing, cyber security) are of international standard. Many such students work for foreign companies while living in Nepal.

Another group (degree-focused): They pass by reading only the old versions of C, C++ or Java included in the syllabus. The market today demands technologies such as Python, React and Node.js, which either are not in their curriculum or, if present, are not practised enough. As a result, even after graduating in IT they do not possess employable hard skills.

Lack of technical and vocational skills

In Nepal, general education has a dominant share. A large group of students who complete BA, BBS or B.Ed do not have any concrete skills in their hands.

If a graduate’s computer stops working, they do not know how to repair it. If a tap at home breaks, they do not know how to fix it. Many cannot operate basic banking software.

Because our education system has prioritised only white-collar jobs, students show little interest in learning hard skills related to machinery, agriculture or construction.

Research and academic writing skills

At the higher education level, one major component of hard skills is academic writing and data analysis.

Most students at the master’s level have a severe lack of skills to conduct original research and to analyse data using statistical software such as SPSS, R or Python.

Because of a copy-paste culture, students do not learn how to write reports properly. Employers say that fresh graduates cannot write even a basic proposal.

Soft Skills among Nepali Students: A Serious Challenge

If the issue with hard skills is primarily linked to technology, the issue with soft skills is connected to culture and upbringing. Many employers (such as Chaudhary Group, Bhatbhateni and various banks) consider lack of soft skills to be the main reason why students fail during job interviews.

The crisis in communication skills

This is the weakest side of Nepali students.

Language barrier: Students from government schools hesitate and feel afraid to speak English, while those from private schools may have better English but are weak in Nepali writing and formal communication.

Listening patience: Communication is not only about speaking but also about listening. Many students lack patience. They often begin work without listening properly to instructions and without understanding them.

Email and correspondence: Fresh graduates commonly send emails without a subject line, do not know how to use formal salutations and often use blunt language.

Confidence and presentation

In Nepali society children are often raised with messages such as “do not show that you know”, “obey elders” and “do not question”. This directly affects students’ soft skills.

Students have limited ability to speak in front of a mass audience or to sell their ideas through presentations or pitching. They may have knowledge inside, but because they cannot express it, they fall behind in interviews.

Critical thinking and problem solving

Our examination system rewards rote memorisation. As a result, the habit of asking “why did this happen?” and “how can it be improved?” has not developed, and students’ critical thinking remains weak.

When a problem appears at the workplace, instead of looking for solutions by themselves, many Nepali students tend to wait for instructions from their boss. Employers look for “problem solvers”, but colleges are producing “instruction followers”.

Teamwork and cooperation

From school and college, students are told they must always come first. This fosters an individualistic mindset.

However, office work must be done in teams. Many Nepali students show the attitude, “My work is done, I am leaving,” rather than asking whether the group’s project has been completed, which reveals a lack of team spirit.

Time management and discipline

“Nepali time”, the habit of being late, carries over into students’ professional lives.

Failure to complete tasks within deadlines, arriving late for meetings and not understanding the value of time are major soft skill weaknesses.

Structural Causes of Weaknesses in Hard and Soft Skills (Root Cause Analysis)

Students alone are not to blame for lacking these skills. This is a systemic failure. The main reasons are as follows.

Curriculum and the limitations of universities

Outdated curriculum: In many faculties at Tribhuvan University and other universities, the curriculum is 10 to 15 years old. While the world has entered the age of artificial intelligence (AI), we are still at the level of basic data entry.

Theoretical load: Around 80 percent of the curriculum weight is given to theory, and only about 20 percent (often only nominally) to practical components. This does not allow hard skills to develop.

Teaching methods (pedagogy)

Teacher-centred lecture methods continue to dominate. Students are not encouraged to speak, ask questions or participate in debates. This blocks the development of soft skills such as communication and confidence.

Project work and assignments are often submitted after being copy-pasted, and many teachers accept this practice.

Lack of infrastructure

Even in colleges that teach science and technical subjects, there are not enough laboratories, equipment or workshops. Students do not get to touch and operate machines; they only see diagrams in books. In such conditions, hard skills cannot grow.

Examination system

A three-hour written exam tests only a student’s memory, not their skills.

There is no standard in the examination system to assess soft skills such as leadership and teamwork.

Social psychology

Society gives respect to high marks and degrees, not to skills. Becoming a plumber, electrician or cook is seen as low-status work.

For this reason, young people hesitate to learn practical skills.

Effects of the Skills Gap (Impact Assessment)

The shortage of hard and soft skills among Nepali students is having serious effects at the national level.

Brain drain: When students cannot find good jobs in Nepal or when their education does not give them skills, they migrate abroad. Many are then forced to do so-called 3D jobs (dirty, dangerous and difficult) because they lack strong skills.

Increase in industrial costs: Nepali industries cannot deploy fresh graduates directly into productive work. They must provide three to six months of training, which raises company costs.

High share of foreign workers: In large projects, garment factories and construction sites in Nepal, Indian and Bangladeshi workers are dominant. The reason is that many Nepali youths do not have the hard skills required for such work, such as operating lathes or cutting cloth.

Unemployment: Degrees without skills have created a large group of “educated unemployed”.

Case Study: The Global Market and Nepali Students

A brief comparative perspective can clarify this further.

Scenario 1 (United States/Europe): An 18-year-old there usually has a driving licence, experience of part-time work and knows how to file their own tax returns (hard skills). At the same time, they have already learned through work how to speak with customers (soft skills).

Scenario 2 (Nepal): Here, even a 22-year-old graduate often still asks parents for pocket money. Many do not know how to fill out a bank cheque (a lack of hard skills) and they shake with nervousness during job interviews (a lack of soft skills).

This comparison shows that our problem lies less inside the classroom and more in the absence of life skills education outside it.

Ways Forward (Problem-Solving Measures)

However serious the problem, it is not impossible to address. The following are practical suggestions for students, educational institutions and the state.

For students

Students should not remain stuck only in complaints that “college did not teach this”.

Self-learning habit: The internet is a storehouse of knowledge. Use platforms such as Coursera, edX, Udemy and YouTube to learn new software and technologies in your field.
Internships and volunteering: Work for experience even if there is no pay. Internships help students understand the office environment and build soft skills such as teamwork and time management.
Soft skill practice: Practise speaking in front of a mirror. Conduct mock interviews with friends. Learn how to write effective emails.
Networking: Be active on LinkedIn. Connect with professionals in your field and learn from them.

For colleges and universities

Curriculum revision: Design market-relevant curricula in consultation with industry. Make soft skills compulsory as non-credit courses.
Practical education: Make laboratories and project work a central basis for assessment. Require presentations in classrooms.
Career counselling: Every college should have a placement cell to support students in interview preparation and skill development.

For government and policymakers

Investment in skill-based education: Expand the reach of CTEVT (Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training). Adopt policies that encourage technical education more than general education.
National skill testing: In addition to university degrees, introduce a national system of skill testing to certify the real abilities of students.
Industry-academia linkage: Government should mediate cooperation between industry and universities and introduce laws that make on-the-job training (OJT) in industry compulsory for students.

Special Note: How to Balance Hard and Soft Skills

Many students focus only on learning hard skills. However, according to a study by Harvard University and the Stanford Research Center, about 85 percent of success in getting a job depends on soft skills, while hard skills account for around 15 percent.

What Nepali students need to understand is:

Hard skills take you to the interview room.
Soft skills help you get the job and stay in it.

Therefore, while learning coding or accounting, students need to pay equal attention to speaking style, leadership ability and teamwork.

Conclusion

Overall, there is no lack of potential among Nepali students. They are hardworking, obedient and eager to learn. Yet the present state of both hard and soft skills is not satisfactory. The education system is producing “students”, but it is not yet producing “professionals”.

We can no longer delay turning theoretical knowledge in hard skills into practice and addressing the lack of confidence in soft skills. To do this, rote learning must give way to a culture of learning by doing.

Only when Nepali students have in one hand hard skills that are competitive in the global market and in the other hand soft skills that help them work well with everyone, will Nepal’s education be meaningful and the country move towards prosperity. Students now need to enter the labour market not just with hands that ask for jobs but with minds that solve problems.