Just about every career or occupation that you enter throughout your working life will require you to possess a combination of career skills. Some of these skills can be more innate, a natural part of a person’s personality, while other skills can be learned and added to throughout our lives. Our skill set can be enhanced as a result of the experiences we gain throughout our education, our various employments and even simply through life in general.
As we now enter the third decade of the 21st Century, the nature of the world of work has changed greatly from that of only a generation ago and it will continue to evolve at a more rapid pace as technology improves. Unsurprisingly, as the nature of work has changed, so too have the skills that are needed to succeed. There is an obvious demand for technology related skills to serve these new and emerging industries. However, the more ubiquitous that technology has become in today’s world, the more important that the ‘softer’ and traditional skills such as communication and emotional intelligence have become, Computers and Artificial Intelligence just cannot perform these most human functions.
There are a huge array of skills and these can be categorised into different groups, while different terms can also be used to describe them. Job success and the ability to thrive along your career journey will typically require a combination of skills from these different groups.
People Skills
These skills are also often referred to as the Soft, Social or Interpersonal skills. They are the skills that help us to communicate, to get along with and be able to understand others. These skills are developed typically as a result of our personality and although they may not come as naturally to everyone, they can be learned and improved upon by most people.
Task Skills
This group of skills can often be referred to as Hard skills and these are often used by recruiters to help select and shortlist candidates for interview. Task skills are general skills that can be used across many work settings. These skills can be taught, studied and improved upon through training.
Personal Skills
These are the skills that demonstrate a person’s attitude and the behaviours that they can bring to the workplace, how they manage and express themselves. They are very highly valued by employers, as those with well-developed personal skills are easier to work with and help contribute towards a harmonious, productive and efficient work environment.
Transferrable skills
These can often be known as Portable skills. They are so called because they can be easily transferred and used from one career area to another. Transferrable skills can be found in any of the three groupings used above. Some of the most typical transferrable skills that employers look for and value are Communication, Organisation, Teamwork, IT Literacy and Adaptability skills.