Employability Skills

Employability skills render an individual an employable candidate in the job market. These are the skills required to be considered "a cut above the rest" and to empower the individual to add to the success rate of the company. Employment is no longer about "merely having a qualification or a degree"; the approach encompasses a more holistic view of the employee. To be employable is synonymous with employability and having the requisite employability skills. Employability skills may be defined as the skills a potential employee can transfer to the workplace to make this person an asset. Possessing a knowledge base is not sufficient. The employee needs to actualize this knowledge in a practical sense. Applying knowledge from an academic or vocational training background to the live workplace is essential. Moreover, the view is not one of knowledge acquisition without taking into account the person; it is the person's personal, intellectual, communicative, and workplace skills that will place them in the front line of becoming employable.

Background

The top employability skills incorporate aspects of the employee’s or potential employee's personal, academic, and technical expertise. These are categorized per various concepts considered to be the prime skills enabling gainful employment and maintaining this employment. Career success and career advancement are primary goals too.

Each organization or government department may divide employability skills into different categories or define them by varying means. There are a few overriding core concepts that appear to be applicable to all. These include critical-thinking skills and concomitant problem-solving abilities, creativity and initiative, and effective communication.

"Communication, teamwork, problem solving, initiative and enterprise, planning and organizing, self-management, learning, technology" are listed by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (Australian National Unversity) as the eight essential employability skills. Exeter University defines employability skills in the context of "communication and interpersonal skills, problem solving skills, using your initiative and being self-motivated, working under pressure and to deadline, organizational skills, team working, ability to learn and adapt, numeracy, valuing diversity and difference, negotiation skills."

What is apparent is that these skills involve the person drawing on a broad range of intellectual, academic, and personal skills. The application of these skills in a people-oriented environment requires acting as an empowered, multifaceted individual within the context of an understanding of the employee's role as a cog in a broader wheel. Understanding diversity, being sensitive to differences, and having excellent interpersonal communication skills are crucial.

Many of these skills had not previously been at the forefront of academic study, and gaining an academic qualification was an all-encompassing focus. Moving into the twenty-first century and a more globalized economy, the focus shifted into the nontechnical as well as technical skills that facilitate meaningful employment and effective contribution in the workplace. Developing employability skills has become an essential part of work training and career readiness, prior to becoming employed and during career training and professional development.

Employability Skills Today

Employability skills are deemed by employers as the most important twenty-first-century skills that will determine success in the workplace. The application of academic skills means that the knowledge skills base is put into practice in a practical way in the workplace. Thus, the core skills learned educationally, such as reading, writing, mathematics, and science are utilized. How to strategize, how to extrapolate procedures from a scientific way of thinking, and how to use technology may be incorporated as a work-based skill.

Critical thinking, as one of the key employability skills, comprises the mental perspicuity synonymous with analysis, logic, and reason. Problem-solving and decision-making follow from this ability to think in critically analytic ways. The organization and management of groups and companies is dependent on this skill. Critical and strategic thinking are top employability skills, especially amidst the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the 2020s. While AI can accomplish many tasks a human can do, strategic thinking is a skill such technology lacks.

Communication is key to the overall success on a micro- and macroeconomic level. People skills are a valued commodity in the workplace. Courses abound in teaching effective communication and leadership skills. On one level, there is the need to deliver powerful presentations, to be able to sell a product or an idea. On the other is the necessity to communicate on an interpersonal level to conduct relationships that will create a harmonious work scene. Positivity, enthusiasm, passion for one's work, and customer care all contribute to this synergy. With regard to relationships, personal characteristics are also noted and require development. Acting in a professional manner, conducting oneself with integrity, exhibiting responsibility, and demonstrating a desire to learn and keep abreast of trends are essential.

Most companies require participation in professional development seminars, webinars, and additional training courses. Some are mandatory, others according to the individual's self-motivation. Constantly fine-tuning one's employability skills is advisable in the highly competitive global market. Students, both at school, university, and the postgraduate level have access to numerous employability skills workshops and training—both online and in person, and via internships.

Microsoft has an educational component, Microsoft Partners in Learning, and "provides professional development to government officials, school leadership teams and educators around the world to help them take new approaches to teaching and learning, using technologies to help students develop 21st century skills." Fox Business cited the most sought-after skills by employers are "commitment, the extra mile, wear[ing] multiple hats, positive attitude, decisions makers, passion, organized and dependable, communication, conscientiousness." Forbes gave the following ten skills as critical to gaining employment: "critical thinking, complex problem solving, judgment and decision making, active listening, computers and electronics, mathematics, operation and system analysis, monitory, programming, sales and marketing."

Ultimately, it is a synthesis of the requisite knowledge, appropriate combination of skills and abilities, and personal attributes that will make the individual employee the most employable candidate and the best asset to the organization. Employability skills feature the employee being able to transfer academic knowledge into the practical sphere. Both technical and nontechnical skills proficiency are valued. The individuals' communication skills and teamwork abilities are significant in making them a valued staff member. Flexibility, leadership qualities, and initiative are rated high as employability skills, as well as the ability to solve problems efficiently. Of great importance is how the employee's goals are in synchronicity with the overarching goals of the company. Employability skills are considered crucial to the success of an organization functioning in the twenty-first century.

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