Addressing Non-Technical Skills Gaps for Early Professionals
An AI-driven platform to build non-technical skills.
Project Overview
Updated June 5, 2025
The Problem
In today’s fast-evolving job market, Canadian employers increasingly need early professionals with both technical expertise and strong non-technical skills (NTS) like communication, teamwork, problem-solving and resilience. However, unlike hard skills that can be assessed with standardized tests, NTS assessments are complex, time-intensive and traditionally require human interviewers, making it difficult to offer them at scale.
How We Are Solving It
Led by Knockri in collaboration with Procrastrinus and the Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER); this project aims to build an AI-driven platform that provides high-quality, individualized NTS assessments at scale. The proposed platform will integrate Knockri’s proprietary automated interview scoring algorithm with well-established work-integrated learning programs offered across Canada through BHER.
Before beginning a work-integrated learning program, early professional users will be able to complete automated assessments of their baseline NTS. The platform will then apply machine learning to analyze the interview responses and compare them against behavioural criteria. Generative AI will provide the early professionals with personalized feedback and actionable steps to improve their NTS.
As a proof-of-concept, learners engaged throughout this project will put their development plans into practice through a work-integrated learning program offered with 10,000 employers and 200 postsecondary institutions across Canada. At the end of the program, they will repeat the automated NTS assessment to review their growth.
Ultimately, the proposed platform will seek to deliver a scalable solution to ensure Canadians entering the workforce have the essential skills they need for successful careers.
