Soft Skill Training Emerging as a Crucial Skill

According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, 50% of everyone employed will need some level of reskilling by 2025.

Adoption of newer technology is the main reason. Working away from the office is another major cause. Whatever the reason, employers who took part in the survey said soft skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving were the behaviors they sought most in employees. Then came other soft skills like active learning, flexibility, resilience, and the ability to tolerate stress.

The good news is that companies have also started recognizing the value of investing in their employees. Sixty-six percent of employers surveyed believe expenses on training their staff in areas like communication, time management, negotiating, and other personality development skills brought back a return on investment within one year. Today, soft skill training is so much in demand, it has seen an 88% growth in demand. 

Let’s look at some of the traits that all successful people have in common. These are hard to measure, yet extremely important if you are looking for a prosperous future.     

Using body language to exude power.

Very often you have great content to deliver but somehow you are not able to hold your audience’s attention. Learn how to use body language to be more effective.

Gestures allow you to emphasize when making a point. But gesticulating too much could be taken as a sign of nervousness. What is the perfect handshake? What is the right poise that embodies your confidence, without seeming intimidating? Experts in body language can train you on all these.

Accomplishing more in less time.

What if you were told working hard is not necessary. What you need is to work intelligently.  It may need you to relook at everything you do from the moment of dawn, to dusk.

All successful people know how to manage their time, every hour of every day. A lot of students find themselves stressed with the increasing demands from academics. So much that they are unable to relax even during leisure time.

Veterans in time management say planning and making a simple To-Do list, right at the beginning of the day is the first step. Next is prioritizing your tasks. But how do you prioritize between ‘important’ and ‘urgent’ tasks?

These are the kind of challenges that prevent most people from ending their day, satisfied that it was fruitful. An expert inefficient time management can help pick key strategies for you. Thankfully these are skills that once learned can be practiced for a lifetime. Not just at work.

Getting started

Like a game of chess or cricket, soft skills don’t last if you don’t use it. This is why shorter, flexible and more frequent training works best for people. Expert trainers say some people learn better with written material, others with podcasts. The most effective trainers work with smaller groups, including mentoring programs, have more frequent meet-ups to check progress and support where necessary and when needed.

Author: Dr. Anjana Das