EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS ( VIDEO WATCH)

EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS

In this VIDEO, an overview is given on the series of skills desirable to enhance capacity in the volatile job market. 

The notes enfold below.

1 What are Employability Skills?

In the world of work employers often look for skills that go beyond qualifications and experience to retain candidates for a job.

Whilst education and experience may make one eligible to apply for a job, “soft skills” or “employability skills” are very useful to give the necessary advantage for retention on a job in the wide market space.

As a general rule, employers are not only willing to teach someone the job-specific skills required for machine and/or computer operation. Nevertheless, they also want to see the employee better equipped with other ‘soft or employability skills’ before hiring.

Employability skills are the building blocks of any career. The business world, public and private companies spend a lot of time and money on training and development with respect to basic life-learning skills.

In times of growing unemployment, there are many more job-seekers on the market and employers are, therefore, bound to enlist those with better employability skills. 

2 Nuturing Employability skills

Nurturing employability skills is a long-term process and are meant to be continuously improved.

Being able to apply for a job in the right way and shine in an interview is not the only key to employability.

Creating a strong CV or résumé, writing a good covering letter and responding well during an interview, are also how one portrays one’s employability skills to employers.

The most important employability skills are:

Working well with other people, i.e, good communication and interpersonal skills;

Being reliable and dependable;

Committing to learn new skills for job improvement.

2.1 Working well with other people

The skills required to work well with other people are known as interpersonal skills.

Good interpersonal skills enable effective participation as a member of a team, boosts up customer satisfaction and expectations, help to negotiate, make decisions and solve problems with other employees. Good interpersonal skills allow people to understand better and create greater synergy between colleagues and clients, thus leading to a better and less stressful working environment.

There are a range of areas covered by interpersonal skills, including:

Communication skills - these are the skills required to transmit or receive messages accurately to and from other people by speaking or in writing, without misunderstandings. These skills include:

Verbal Communication – or the words that we use, whether face-to-face or in writing. The balance between face-to-face and in writing is likely to vary in different jobs, but few, if any, will not want at least some of each type of communication;

Non-verbal Communication –  or what we communicate without words, for example through body language, tone of voice, or even emojis; and

Listening – how we take in and then interpret the verbal and non-verbal messages sent by others, including in writing.

Emotional intelligence – or the ability to understand and manage one’s own and others’ emotions, and use them positively to achieve the desired outcomes.

Teamwork – the ability to work with others in groups and teams, both formal and informal. Not everyone is required to work in a close-knit team, but the ability to function well in a group is a vital skill in most jobs.

Negotiation – these skills relate to finding mutually agreeable solutions to problems or situations through persuasion and sharing of experiences.

Conflict solving – or the skills required to resolve disagreements in a positive way.

Problem-solving – or the skills needed to work effectively with others to identify, define and solve problems, including making decisions about the best course of action.

2.2 Being Reliable and Dependable

Being reliable and dependable means, basically, doing what you say. It also, however, means being able to look around and see what needs to be done. This requires a wide range of skills, mostly personal rather than interpersonal.

First of all, doing what you say means managing one’s time effectively. Time management is very important during this phase of skills development and one must know how to make it simple.

Being reliable also means being trustworthy and conscientious. For example, this might mean not leaving work when things still need doing. Trustworthiness and conscientiousness are both parts of self-regulation and self-management, which in turn is an important part of emotional intelligence.

People who are self-regulated and reliable take responsibility for their own actions and ensure that they live up to their values. They keep track of deadlines and deliver to them without needing to be chased up.

The final element of being reliable is using one’s initiative to identify where work needs to be done. Daniel Goleman, who developed the concept of emotional intelligence, identified initiative as a key part of self-motivation. He defined it as ‘readiness to act on opportunities’. To develop one’s ability to use one’s initiative, one must harness the powers of creative thinking.

2.3 A Willingness to Learn

A willingness to learn means being open to new ideas and experiences, and always looking to improve your skills and knowledge. Sometimes, this is referred to as personal development, but that term is also used for a more formal process, of goal-setting, action and reflection. Whether one chooses to make one’s learning process formal or informal, there is no question that the modern world requires people to continually update and revise their skills.

However, change is a constant in most workplaces, and the most valuable employees are those who are not resistant to change, and those who reckon that change offers more opportunities than threats.

3 Concluding remarks

There are, inevitably, a wide range of skills that may be useful to employers. Every individual has his own personal range of skills and he can make a unique contribution to any organisation. Learning to recognise and use his skills appropriately is essential to growth and development. An open mind and a willingness to embrace new ideas are probably the most useful attributes an individual can bring to the organisation.