The two greatest concerns of employers today are finding good workers and training them. The difference between the skills needed on the job and those possessed by applicants, called the skills-gap, is of real concern to CEO’s and HR managers looking to hire competent employees. While employers would prefer to hire people who are trained and job ready, they are usually willing to provide the specialized, job-specific training necessary for those lacking such skills. However, certain skills, referred to as employability skills, are mostly found missing in most of the applicants, especially at the entry level. Employability skills are those basic skills necessary for getting, keeping, and doing well on a job. These are the skills, attitudes and actions that enable workers to get along with their fellow workers and supervisors and to make sound, critical decisions. Unlike occupational or technical skills, employability skills are generic in nature rather than job specific and cut across all industry types, business sizes, and job levels from the entry-level worker to the senior-most position.

In a recent survey carried out, following were the Top 7 skills which the employers were looking in employees:

• Communication                                 
• Team Working                                    
• Integrity                                                 
• Planning & Organization               
• Good writing                                        
• Numeracy (good with nos.)
• Analysis & Decision making  

These skills are transferrable or teachable skills and the earlier the person is trained in the skills the better.  Governments all over the world are siezed with the problem and are taking steps to ensure that these form a part of school curriculum rather than being taught at a later stage, as is being done now. 

In my next blog, I will dwell on the various types of employability skills in detail.