The article is devoted to soft skills, which are currently aimed at assessing the successful professional and scientific, life adaptation of graduates of higher educational institutions and young scientists, as well as those responsible for the quality necessary for the effective functioning of people in the context of today's changes. The authors analyzed the descriptive content of soft skills, issued in research papers of far and near abroad, concerning the study of flexible skills, on the basis of which the views of research scientists are grouped. Emphasizing the importance of forming flexible skills of students in the conditions of modern global competition, revealing its psychological basis, its influence and role on the effectiveness of professional, social and personal life of the individual is revealed. Analyzing and summarizing the materials on the research work, it is concluded that the formation and development of flexible skills of students determines the identity, demand and is the main indicator of adaptation in today's rapidly changing society.