Teamwork and collaboration are expected from scientists. Recently, an increasing number of voices have been asking for explicit training in ‘soft skills’ for university graduates [1–۴] to prepare them for careers both in academia and outside. However, what soft skills are most valued by scientists and by recruiters? Are some soft skills more important than others for research collaboration? Are they in fact learnable? How might a postgraduate program be set up to inculcate them? Published studies about scientific collaboration are mainly statistics of authorship pattern [5,6], case studies and individual testimony [7–۹], or material for self-training mainly about leadership (e.g., how to set up your own lab? [10]) or tricks for tackling teamwork [8,11] (e.g., writing ‘prenuptial’ agreements, handling conflict etc.). Here, we consider which soft skills are ranked highest by research team leaders, and how relevant training might be delivered to early-career scientists. What we offer is based on two main sources of evidence. We have been running short courses for postgraduates and postdocs within our Genes to Geoscience Research Enrichment Program. We have refined these courses through discussion and reflection over several years. We have also surveyed opinion among leaders of research labs.