"critical skill" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to describe a skill that is important to a particular job or task, or a skill that is necessary for success. For example, "Collaboration is a critical skill for any successful project team."
"As a leader, counting votes is a very critical skill.
Freedivers say their most critical skill is emotional control, the ability to stay calm and relaxed.
"I just don't think that being able to spell is today a critical skill," Ms. Nathanson said.
Focusing on using the right weapon scores faster kills and saves wasted ammunition: it's a critical skill.
He learned to smoke — a critical skill for any Chinese man engaged in the world of business guanxi, or relationships.
Not knowing is a critical skill and certainty can make you blind, claims this book by two executive consultants.
Ms. Juric: The College Board believes passionately that writing is a critical skill for success in college, no matter what field of study the student is pursuing.
These efforts barely rose above the levels of annals, and the authors showed neither the critical skill nor the literary power of their great predecessors.
Mr. Thompson plans to emphasize his background in municipal finance as a critical skill in working out how to pay for the city's recovery costs.
At a press conference this morning, Rod Paige, the education secretary, said, "In today's world, where a new technological advance seems to appear daily, math is second only to reading as a critical skill everyone needs to learn".
While the N.S.A.'s job is chiefly one of detection and monitoring, the agency also possesses what Michael D. McConnell, the former director of national intelligence, called "the critical skill set" to respond quickly to cyberattacks.
