For many people today, a career for life is no longer an option. Most people will hold jobs with a variety of employers and move across different employment sectors through their working life.
We all need to be flexible in our working patterns and be prepared to change jobs and/or sectors if we believe there are better opportunities elsewhere.
In order to be flexible we need a set of transferable skills – skills that are not specific to one particular career path but are generic across all employment sectors.
Employers are often looking for skills that go beyond qualifications and experience.
While your education and experience may make you eligible to apply for a job, to be successful in the role you will need to exhibit a mix of skills: ‘employability skills’. This means that the specialist, technical skills associated with different roles may be less important than the \'soft skills\' that can be transferred between different jobs and different employment sectors.
For employers, getting the right people means identifying people with the right skills and qualities to fulfil the role and contribute to the organisation\'s success. Candidates may have the qualifications and \'hard skills\' needed to be able to manage the job role but, without a well-honed set of \'soft skills\', employers are less inclined to hire.
Employability skills are those skills necessary for getting, keeping and being successful in a job.
They are the skills and attitudes that enable employees to get along with their colleagues, to make critical decisions, solve problems, develop respect and ultimately become strong ambassadors for the organisation.
Employability or ‘soft skills’ are the foundation of your career building blocks and they are frequently referenced in the media as lacking in school-leavers, graduates and those already in employment. Organisations spend a lot of time and money training staff, not in job specific areas but in general and basic skills.
In times of high unemployment, employers have more choice of applicants and will favour those with well-rounded employability skills.culled from www.skillsyouneed.com