How Soft Skills Are the Future

In a recent research study that surveyed 50 countries (5800 executives), it was found that the biggest breaks in the business were not “digital skills,” but behavioral skills. 

While digital and technical skills are in high demand, these individuals and job positions can be filled and replaced easily and rapidly since these are hard skills and can be easily taught. Most college graduates and young professionals have the digital skills they need for their said job but are lacking in complex problem solving, teamwork, business understanding, and leadership known as soft skills. These soft skills are harder to acquire and are rather learned through life and work experience.  

We deal with many challenges every day- trying to adapt to constant change; prioritizing our time to work on the most important things; learning to listen and collaborate in a team; and understanding how to communicate our ideas, findings, and recommendations in a compelling way. However, most of us were never truly taught how to properly go about handling these problems. Jobs with high social skills (sales, leadership, project managers, marketing) have increased in value, and those which require both technical and managerial have increased the most so it is important that we start learning if we want to stay afloat in the working world. Do not fear, for it is never too late to learn. Through our experts here at Open Ocean, we will teach you all the skills you need and more in order to be successful. Skills that you can carry with you forever.  

As an employer, it is important to offer your employees not only a lot of digital training but also soft skill training. You can start by offering your employees a wide range of development skills including formal development, self-directed learning, developmental assignments, and internal mobility. Then you will further progress into more soft skill training as new challenges arise. There is no such thing as too much training, but there is a thing as not enough. Here at Open Ocean, we will help you find the right balance for your company.  

To conclude, yes, the half-life of skills is decreasing, but the time to develop skills has gone up. If employees are not taught these skills and are practicing them frequently, it is more likely that your business will not progress or operate smoothly. That is why it is important to start researching and implementing these strategies now. It is never too late to start!