Why soft skills?
Disruptions and automation in the workforce make future job trends unpredictable. Added with the volatility of economic paradigms in the post-pandemic era, soft skills are what keep people competitive.
In fact, most hiring and firing decisions come down to soft skills. According to the LinkedIn 2019 Global Talent Trends Report, 92% of talent professionals and hiring managers view strong soft skills as increasingly important. It is also reported that 89% of bad hires are due to their lack of soft skills. It is extremely costly for companies to hire and replace employees, hence companies increasingly place an emphasis on evaluating hires based on soft skills.
How then do we develop these essential soft skills?
-
- Find learning resources online
During this circuit breaker period, many platforms are offering a range of attractive courses for free, for you to up skill! Some examples of these learning resources include the General Assembly, edX, Reactivate, Coursera and many more.
Another example would be a masterclass jointly organised by Skilio and HHHolistic, to benefit Singaporean youth in skill upgrading in this period of uncertainty. Together, their initiative aims to provide tips to improve soft skills for individuals looking to spend their time meaningfully in times of the COVID-19 global coronavirus pandemic.
Skilio and HHHolistics see value in the attainment of soft skills and want to aid people in the mastery of soft skills, what they term as “power skills”. Holistic up skills and develops people to embrace 21st Century skills and other soft skills to increase each individual’s future employability.
More masterclasses will be conducted in the next few weeks. Do join in to explore deeper into the topics of Communication and Collaboration! You can find more details and signup for these masterclasses here!
If you have difficulty sourcing for learning resources, simply follow Skilio (on Telegram, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram) for updates on such masterclasses and up to date recommendations on learning resources to grow your soft skills.
Skilio is a soft skills measurement and analytics platform that empowers organisations to track soft skill development through experiences. Being strong advocates of soft skills ourselves, we believe in a world where success is multi-dimensional, and that anyone can in their own capacities take-charge of developing their own soft skills — including yourself!
-
- Develop the skill of Calm
The skill of Calm involves controlling our mental fortitude in face of a crisis. Tips to do so include taking less bubble tea (or rather treating your body well). Next, we should learn to find a balance in asking ‘what ifs’ as they normally lead to more questions. We should instead live in the present and face challenges positively. Lastly, we should learn to disconnect from the world from time to time to reduce anxiety.
-
- Hone your communication skills
Communication skills can be honed through thinking of your audience and watching your body language when you communicate. You can practice in front of a mirror before communicating to see what body language you are portraying. Lastly, we should practice active listening which is the hardest part of communication.
-
- Master collaboration
Collaboration requires us to profoundly understand our role, our purpose, and our peers.
“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, working together is success.”
Henry Ford
5. Practice and document your learning
We can constantly keep these tips in mind and apply them during our day to day activities. For example, when working in project groups in school, students can initiate goals setting before embarking on the projects to allow effective collaboration. They can also practice effective communication during the process by engaging in active listening. Adopting these soft skills are the first steps we can take to be prepared to enter and excel in the workplace.
Tracking your development is also crucial to understand our progress and motivate ourselves to do better
You can do so by keeping a soft skills journal.
In your journal, you should set goals by identifying key competencies, such as leadership, responsibility and the 3 soft skills mentioned above, that you want to improve. Next, develop a learning plan. You can attend more online webinars, participate in more projects etc. Afterwards, summarize your learning. To know your true development, get feedback from relevant stakeholders (your mentors, teachers, friends etc) to get 360 degree feedback. Finally, determine areas for improvement and develop a plan to improve them. Repeat the cycle as learning is a continuous process!
-
- Source for opportunities to upgrade your soft skills: Skilio Industry Immersion Programme
In addition to the masterclass, Skilio initiated the Skilio Industry Immersion Programme (SIIP) as part of Skilio’s #SGUnitedefforts to give back to the community in trying times. Skilio understood the disappointment students must have felt when their summer plans got disrupted due to the Covid-19 outbreak. To help youths in their journey to upskill themselves, Skilio started this initiative to allow students to still have a chance to learn during their university summer break or school holidays.
SIIP aims to help students to be future ready in the VUCA world amidst the economic uncertainty today. To do so, SIIP provides students with short term industry immersion experiences (lasting 1 month) in Singaporean companies/organisations. Students can gain exposure to the working environment and build up their network and skill sets. On top of that, students can track their learning using soft skills measurement & analytics software provided FREE of charge by Skilio to all participating students.
How can interested students and organisations join SIIP?
Interested students for SIIP, please join the telegram channel for opportunities to participate. Cohort 3 of the SIIP will commence on 6 July — 31 July, we look forward to seeing you there!
Organisations/companies interested in participating in this initiative can also reach out to Skilio! Anyone in the company or organisation can be a part of this as long as one member is willing to carve out a small part of his/her time to guide 1 student team (max 3) through a company/organisation specific team project. You can simply fill in this form containing extra information or reach out to Skilio via [email protected] for more queries! Let’s do our part to prepare our youths for the future workplace!
Possessing soft skills is crucial for your success in life, be it advancing in career or doing well in school. The above sums up 6 ways to develop your soft skills to future-proof yourself. We look forward to your development. Do share this article with your friends and families and remember to follow Skilio for more content on soft skills upgrading!
