Addressing the soft skills crisis
| Date | 13 June 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-03-2016-0026 |
| Pages | 137-139 |
| Published date | 13 June 2016 |
| Author | Mary Clarke |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
Addressing the soft skills crisis
Mary Clarke
Mary Clarke is based at Cognisco,
Bedford, UK. According to reports, Britain’s
workforce is facing a deficit
in soft skills which is
threatening productivity and which
could have major financial
implications for the UK economy.
A report[1] published by
Development Economics Ltd. on
behalf of McDonald’s, UK,
suggested that by 2020 over half a
million UK workers will be
significantly held back by lack of
soft skills – an issue that is forecast
to affect all industry sectors.
This highlighted that soft skills
contribute £88bn to the UK
economy currently – a contribution
that is predicted to increase to
£109bn in the next five years.
However, the report claimed that the
deficit in “soft skills” will cost the UK
economy £8.4bn per year in 2020 in
lost production if not addressed
now.
Rather unsurprisingly, 97 per cent of
UK employers surveyed stated that
soft skills are important to their
current business success; however,
over half of the employers surveyed
say skills like communication and
teamwork are more important than
traditional academic results.
Unfortunately, three-quarters believe
that there is already a gap in soft
skills in the UK workforce, an area
that Cognisco is already helping
several global companies to
address with our unique people
insight and analytics capabilities.
What are the top ten soft skills?
The National Careers Advice
Service[2] promotes ten core soft
skills that people should aim to
develop during their careers. These
are communicating, making
decisions, showing commitment,
flexibility, time management,
leadership skills, creativity and
problem-solving skills, being a team
player, accepting responsibility and
having the ability to work under
pressure.
It highlights that these skills are
important transferable skills that
people can use in a variety of job
roles and personal qualities and
attitudes that help them work with
others and make a positive
contribution to a business.
Employability and leadership
challenges
Evidence suggests that the lack of
soft skills is already hindering the
employability chances of some
young people.
The latest British Chamber of
Commerce Workforce Survey[3]
found that 88 per cent of employers
believe that young people are not
prepared for the world of work, and
57 per cent of employers blame the
lack of soft skills such as
Strategic commentary
DOI 10.1108/SHR-03-2016-0026 VOL. 15 NO. 3 2016, pp. 137-139, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW PAGE 137
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