Advertisement

8 In 10 Job Seekers Believe That Acquiring Soft Skills Is Important To Get A Relevant Job: Survey

-Survey shows the present sentiment towards ‘upskilling’ amongst job seekers; may re-invent the engineering workforce -Having domain knowledge alone is not enough, 81% of engineering job seekers feel acquiring soft skills is important to get relevant job opportunities

?

Grappling to deal with the pandemic-induced financial crunch, many companies had to either lay off or furlough their existing workforce. It has also affected hirings across all sectors. This has highlighted the need for an enhanced skill set among the employees and job-seekers to pivot through such unforeseen circumstances. Taking note of the same, India’s largest IP-driven incubation lab, BridgeLabz, surveyed on the theme “Skills engineers should hone to stay relevant in the upcoming years.” The responses from 1300+ engineering job seekers reveal their inclination towards acquiring a robust, comprehensive skillset that helps solidify their position as an employee in the future.

As per the survey, 89.98% of the respondents think that soft skills such as Business Communications can prove helpful in getting a job. It is worth mentioning that having soft skills on the resume is especially gaining importance due to the recent change in the work environment. As companies have transitioned to digital and remote working setups, they prefer employees with skills such as time management, communication, teamwork, flexibility & adaptability, critical thinking, etc. However, only 10.11% feel that such skills hardly make any difference.

Interestingly, 81% of the job seekers view Business Communication as a requisite in the engineering field. While 16% are indecisive of whether or not it is an indispensable part of the discipline, only 2% don't consider it important.

Upon probing further, the participants revealed the skills they would like to hone to stay job-relevant. Apart from domain knowledge, 33% of job seekers would like to learn about critical thinking. The said skill finds its relevance even more in the present era where it is impossible not to come across multiple and contradicting sources of information. Here, clear and rational thinking can help you navigate to a well-informed decision - a reason it is gaining popularity in recruitments.

The highly coveted skill is followed closely by the urge to refine linguistic & technical flexibility (31%) and business communications skills (29%). Whereas, only 8% of respondents sided with developing cognitive skills.

Speaking on the survey findings, Narayan Mahadevan, Founder, BridgeLabz , said, “The pandemic has not only changed business models but also the hirings and promotion structures. Today, an employee is expected to be multiskilled to guide peers or assume extended responsibilities in times of crisis. flexibility is the keyword here.”

“Be it any field, having additional skills goes a long way. This is what the survey highlighted. A majority of the engineering job seekers are looking to acquire soft skills. Live-working environments can help hone job-relevant skills and prepare them for the real world, he added.”


Tags assigned to this article:
job seekers soft skills Narayan Mahadevan BridgeLabz

Advertisement

Around The World