Bridging The In-Demand Skill Gap With Hard And Soft Skills

Closing the Skill Gaps for the Future

Many businesses believe that complex technical skills are the most crucial skill gap. However, employees could not have the soft skills required to perform their job well.

COVID-19 has made managers more conscious of its importance in building capacity within their employees. Today, 78% of leaders believe that building skills are vital to long-term development, whereas just 59% agreed before the outbreak.

More than ever, managers see an increasing gap in their companies' skills. 43% of business leaders believe that they must fix the skill gap right away to stay on top.

Why Should We Bridge The Skill Gap?

Eliminating the skill gap makes the business more likely to achieve its goals. Furthermore, investing in skills development can boost your performance and improve your satisfaction at work as an employee.

For instance, some employees enter working life without the collaborative capabilities required to succeed in their work. They can develop these skills through in-person coaching or instructor-led courses. As long as they don't receive the training, there's an unsatisfactory gap between the capabilities they possess and the ones required to be successful in the workplace.

Bridging the In-Demand Skill Gap

Evaluation of soft and hard skills will help determine the most effective strategies to address the team's needs for growth.

Begin by defining the competencies that will be most beneficial for the business both in the present and the near future. Then, think about what abilities the company might require over the next five to ten years. It can be challenging to forecast. 

Don't be overly precise; instead, seek out general categories or areas of competencies, such as data literacy or geriatric requirements, which are pertinent to the business's long-term goals and are in line with more significant external trends. Meet with managers and talent experts to determine what qualities they're looking for in a potential employee and what trends they're seeing.

The top five competencies that companies currently seek, according to a study conducted by CNBC, are:

• Supportiveness
• Assertiveness
• Compliance
• Conflict Management
• Relationship Management

How Can We Reduce the Skill Gap for Freshers?

Internships can help. And, similar to an internship, you can go for an externship. You are usually active in work, meetings and get to know fellow group members when externship. Not only do you experience the professional sector in person for a short duration, but you also have the chance to discuss with your host and other guests the questions you may have regarding the work or industry via informational interviewing. This lets you gain a complete understanding of the specifics of work in real-time, as well as the typical structure of a working day or week.

What else can you do? You can join or create a small local community. Or, you can be a part of a boot camp. 

Bootcamps offer the knowledge you require to fill in the gap in their understanding. However, these boot camps can also provide a variety of additional soft skills such as preparation for an interview and resume assistance, corporate culture, and more.

It is all about climbing up the ladder in the corporate world. Therefore, be sure to consider your needs when choosing your mentors and who will assist you in filling your skills gap! 

Cogent University, for example, has a team of "soft skills" experts who can prepare you for your career. Cogent University hosts a boot-camp-to-job-placement program specializing in Java Development, Data Analytics, and Cybersecurity with over eleven years of experience and success in training and placing 700+ candidates in 59 cohorts. Get in touch with the team today.