Which employability skills are important

We can fall back on studies and surveys, such as this one or this one to identify the skills employers and recruiters value most. Even though you will come across different sets of employability skills, here's a quick look at the most common ones:. Employability skills are very desirable to recruiters because they're valuable in almost every job.

They're also much harder to teach than specific technical skills, so a candidate who already has them is very attractive to prospective employers. Here are 10 of the most important employability skills that employers look for. Companies face a lot of obstacles. Those better able to cope with challenges will thrive. Those less able will ultimately fail. No wonder employers are constantly looking for people who can help them tackle setbacks and streamline processes.

As a matter of fact, problem-solving is part of several larger skill sets. If you want to be sure you're making the most of this skill, make a beeline for our guides on analytical skills and critical thinking skills.

If you want to succeed in your professional and personal life, you need to be able to effectively communicate with others. Want to max out your chances of succeeding at work? Learn about the most effective communication skills for workplace success and resumes.

This is why companies look for people who can quickly adjust to the ever-shifting business landscape. New technologies, new kinds of competition, new business models—all these require you to think on your feet and have the courage to propose new, yet-to-be-tested solutions.

The power of collaboration cannot be underestimated. Well-organized teams can achieve much more than any of its members could if they went solo. Bad time-management may lead to work-life imbalance and ultimately transform into professional- and personal-life related issues.

You are a reliable employee if you can consistently complete your tasks on time, deliver quality work and make minimal mistakes. You must also be able to respond to inquiries and emails promptly and only make promises you can keep.

Related: Tips to Demonstrate Work Ethic. Problem-solving involves identifying key issues and their implications, having a clear understanding of problems and determining the most effective solutions. For more complex problems, you need to know how to divide them into smaller parts that are easier to understand and more manageable. Problem-solving skills can set you apart from other job candidates because they can help your potential employer maintain an efficient operational process and achieve objectives more effectively.

If you are a good problem-solver, you can play an important role in troubleshooting issues, which can enable your team to overcome obstacles and solve complex problems. Depending on the position you are applying for, you may need a certain set of sub-skills to solve problems effectively, including research, analysis and decision-making.

Being able to organize and plan effectively is important because it helps you and your employer save time, effort and money by improving workflow. It ensures that assignments and projects are completed on time and prevents confusion and errors that can be costly to the company. To be a good organizer and planner, you should be able to identify tasks, prioritize them, create schedules for them and complete them on time. If you are in a leadership position, you need to develop systematic processes for achieving goals and delegating tasks appropriately.

You can develop organizational and planning skills by:. Taking initiative means recognizing a problem and solving it, preparing for a potential crisis by taking preemptive action, taking advantage of opportunities and having a positive attitude.

It shows that you can think for yourself and take the necessary actions without being instructed to do so. As a person with initiative, you have a strong drive to succeed and a desire to keep improving yourself through continuous learning, which makes you valuable to any organization.

Employers consider initiative one of the key employability skills and value employees who possess self-motivation to complete tasks without being asked. The flexibility and courage of such employees can push organizations to innovate and achieve a competitive edge. Related: Character Traits: Definition and Examples. Self-management refers to the ability to perform job duties satisfactorily with little or no supervision. For higher-level employees, it also means delegating tasks to ensure you complete them on time.

Additionally, self-managed employees can motivate themselves to deliver solid work performance consistently. If you have good self-management skills, you can help your supervisor or manager save time and effort simply because you need minimal guidance and assistance from them.

Also, being a self-motivated person means you may be less likely to have productivity issues. Full Story: University of Leicester. Generic employability skills are important because the labour market is intensely competitive, and employers are looking for people who are flexible, take the initiative and have the ability to undertake a variety of tasks in different environments. Prospective students and parents carefully weigh up their future employment prospects when selecting degrees and universities.

They consult university league tables and sources which publish graduate destination data and starting salaries. With the rise of tuition fees, students will look more carefully for a return on their investment. Please enable JavaScript to submit this form. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Why is Employability Important in Higher Education. View Larger Image. Full Story: University of Leicester Producing employable graduates forms part of the process of educating.

It encompasses the full educational spectrum of values from imparting knowledge and understanding to developing skills and attributes. Learning to work with people of different ages, religions, and political opinion is essential for your career progress. The ability to work towards a win-win outcome where you can make objective decisions after listening to the opinions of all stakeholders.

While you should keep up your focus on earning industry-recognized certificates or upskilling to learning new technologies to stay employable, also consider developing and improving your soft skills, that is, the 10 employability skills.

Simplilearn offers discounts on technical courses that focus on developing employability skills. Join one today. Top 9 New Technology Trends for Article. In this article, we will cover the following topics in detail: What are employability skills?

Why are employability skills important? Top 10 employability skills and ways to improve them What are Employability Skills? Recommended Programs Business Analyst. Next Article.