Written by Monal Jaiswani• March 7, 2021
Employees bring a wide range of talent and skills to employers. Among those, soft skills are rapidly emerging as one of the most critical and also most neglected skillsets in the workplace. This is creating a need to shift educational
and developmental focuses to adjust to today’s work environment.
It’s important to first understand the difference between hard and soft skills. Hard skills are technical abilities that employees possess such as computer programming, writing, and language skills. Soft skills, on the other hand,
are cognitive, social, and emotional skills such as communication, leadership, creativity, adaptability, and problem-solving. While hard skills are important, soft skills are critical to an employee’s career success. When surveyed,
ninety-seven percent of employers stated that soft skills are equally or more important than hard skills.
Unfortunately, there is a disturbing trend in the skills arena that is making employees less employable. A survey conducted by the Association for Talent Developers found that 92% of executives agree that there is a gap in workforce skills. The survey also found that 44% believe that people lack sufficient soft skills to help businesses succeed.
This gap is also having an impact on the ability to find good talent. A study by the Chronicle of Higher Education found that half of the seven hundred companies surveyed were having trouble finding qualified candidates. The companies reported that while there was no shortage of candidates with strong technical skills many of the candidates lacked the soft skills required to be successful in the role.
The work environment is rapidly changing and more dynamic than ever before. Unprecedented advances in technology and outdated educational approaches seem to be the primary forces that are impacting the soft skills gap in the workforce.
The world has entered what many experts are referring to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This phase of development is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological with advances in technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), genetic engineering, and 3D printing. Because of these advances, hard skills are becoming redundant as more and more tasks are becoming eligible for automation. It is estimated that 40% of the world’s jobs may be automated by the 2030s. Unlike hard skills, soft skills are much more difficult for technology to replace, increasing the value of these abilities.
Despite the shift in the importance of soft skills, the Society for Human Resources Management found that 51% of its members believe that education systems have failed to address the skills gap. Part of this is a result of increasing educational costs. If people are going to spend thousands of dollars on higher education, they expect to come out of school with a job that has higher pay. Since hard skills are easier to market through your resume, degrees, and other certifications, schools continue to focus heavily on technical and hard skills. While this helps to create a workforce that looks good on paper, it leaves them with a gap that will significantly stunt their ability to expand and grow their career.
Many companies are beginning to realize that something needs to be done about the soft skills gap. The World Economic Forum estimates that the skill gap will cost the US economy $160 billion annually. On
a global scale, these figures are significantly larger.
The question is, what is the best way to tackle this issue? It’s clear that companies need to invest in their employees. While the majority of companies agree that additional training programs can help, 42% believe that in-house training would be too expensive. This has many companies looking outside their organizations to help.
With formal educational systems yet to rise to the challenge, new players in the space are emerging to fill this need. Companies like LeadUpp are bringing innovative, web-based approaches to soft skills training. With our Aurelius training program, employers can provide a fun, interactive, and cost-effective solution to soft skills training.