Soft skills to set you apart
Communication skills are the bedrock of all other skills
Practical competencies are the critical skills needed to complete specific work-related tasks. This is something that every student expects to gain by the time they complete a qualification, especially at postgraduate level. Increasingly, however, experts say these skills are insufficient to thrive in the workplace. Soft skills, or foundational skills, are what sets candidates with the same experience and qualifications apart.
Khani Mhlongo runs recruitment and talent acquisition firm Think Career. She says qualifications are important, but the people who stand out from the crowd are those who can apply themselves, think through situations, engage with others and learn to collaborate.
“Employers seek innovative candidates who think outside the box and co-create new ideas that had never even been considered,” she says.
Karen Gray, training and learning consultant and CEO of Gray Training, believes that communication skills are the bedrock of all other skills. While not everyone will be required to speak in public or address large groups, most people need to communicate with colleagues or clients, as well as give and receive instructions. That is why these skills are important in any industry.
She first realised this working as a university lecturer in communication while on a field trip with a group of engineering students. “It opened my eyes — if a civil engineer doesn’t communicate well, report clearly and accurately, or communicate instructions properly, then bridges will collapse and we would have a disaster on our hands!”
The Future Jobs Report from the World
Economic Forum divides the top skills needed into four categories, namely problem-solving, self-management, working with people and technology use and development. Many of the top skills identified are soft skills and tie in directly to their relevance to the fourth industrial revolution and the workplace of the
future.
Experts say these skills should not be seen as separate from or “less than” critical skills, and postgraduate programmes should incorporate both types of skills to ensure a holistic learning experience that adequately prepares a student for the world of work and future employability.