Diversité et Identité Culturelle en Europe 67 IMPROVING STUDENTS’ EMPLOYABILITY CHANCES - FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRAINERS’ ROLE Lucia-Mihaela GROSU Bucharest University of Economic Studies grosulucia@gmail.com Abstract: This article discusses the need for educators in business schools to become more involved in discovering and cultivating not only hard skills, but also soft skills, in order to prepare students to meet the requirements of their potential employers. At the level of business undergraduate studies in Romania, educational activities focusing on soft skills (such as intercultural communication, positive attitude, flexibility) become essential for increasing students’ employability chances. Foreign language teachers who use a communicative teaching method are specifically involved in such activities. But do these courses cover the entire range of top soft skills required by business executives? What is done in the classroom and what can be improved? The present study will attempt to find the answers to these questions and to formulate suggestions for a more focused approach to soft skills development through foreign language courses. Keywords: Employability, soft skills, intercultural communication. 1. Introduction Although we live in an information age which praises technical abilities, it has become apparent that these skills are proving insufficient to ensure young people’s employability after graduation. According to a recent study conducted in the USA 1 , employers are no longer interested only in the new employees’ hard skills, but in their aptitudes to communicate efficiently in multicultural contexts, in their positive attitude or their flexible mindset. In other words, business executives are looking for future employees with strong soft skills. Since foreign language trainers are generally making use of a communicative approach to teaching, this article will investigate their possible role in students’ development of soft skills such as interpersonal communication, professionalism or work ethic. In 2011, Culpin and Scott stated that we are witnessing a passage 1 Marcel M. ROBLES, 2012, “Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today's Workplace” in Business Communication Quarterly 75, pp. 453-465.