PROFESSOR DYLAN JONES-EVANS

  As we move into a new economy where there will be considerable changes to the way we manage work after the pandemic, various studies are beginning to focus on the increasing importance of soft skills within the economy.  Certainly, some have suggested that during the lockdown, skills such as empathy, flexibility and self-determination, have become increasingly important in managing not only ourselves during a challenging time but also others who work with us. This is not surprising as unlike the hard subject-related skills we teach students in schools, colleges and universities, soft skills are more to do with improving an individual’s ability to listen well, communicate effectively, be positive and manage conflict.  They are also about building trust, working well with others and managing time effectively. In other words, these are the type of skills that many of us would assume that most organisations would be developing amongst their employees every day.  The go...

  With employment at a record high of nearly 33 million in the UK, competition for jobs amongst graduates has increased significantly.  Whilst the number of graduate vacancies was the same as the number of available graduates in the workplace twenty years ago, it has been estimated that now there are over eighty applicants per job vacancy. As a result, employers will take it as a given that graduates will have the technical qualifications necessary for a job position as an engineer, lawyer, nurse, accountant or social worker. Instead, they are looking for applicants who also have the range of transferable softer skills that make them ready for the workplace from day one. A recent study by the publishers Pearson suggests that these employability skills are becoming more important although only 13 per cent of human resource (HR) managers stated that their graduates were fully prepared for employment with areas such as leadership, negotiation and strategy being missing.  Wit...