Professional Skills Transferable Skills and Soft Skills

SKILLS

Soft Skills/Transferable Skills/Professional Skills in the Workplace

Soft skills, as Vasanthakumari (2019) points out, refer to a set of personal attributes and skills that individuals possess. Soft skills are important attributes in the work place given that they enhance an individual’s career prospects, job performance, and interactions. Essentially, soft skills include communication styles and subtle behaviors that that help an individual gain professional development. This is more so the case given that soft skills could come in handy in the enhancement of interpersonal relations in the workplace. It would also be prudent to note that soft skills are important in the workplace given that they help individuals thrive in a competitive workplace environment (Dean and East, 2019).

Despite their importance in professional development, many people lack the relevant soft skills. This is more so the case given that colleges and universities emphasize on teaching technical skills as these are often prioritized as an entry requirement in careers (Robles, 2012). The various soft skills that are critical for the workplace are inclusive of, but they are not limited to; work ethic, teamwork, flexibility, professionalism, positive attitude, social skills, responsibility, courtesy, communication, and integrity (Robles, 2012). Robles (2012) further describes the said skills to include the following personal attributes: work ethic - good attendance, self-motivated, initiative; teamwork - collaborative, helpful, supportive, agreeable, getting along with others, and cooperative; flexibility - teachable, adjusts, accepts new things, lifelong learner, willing to change, accept new things, and adjustable; professionalism - poised, appearance, well dressed, and businesslike; positive attitude - confident, happy, encouraging and enthusiastic; social skills - sociability, patient, has self-control, empathetic, nurturing, friendly, and personable; responsibility - self-disciplined, resourceful, reliable, and accountable; integrity-has personal values, high morals, and is ethical and honest.