By Dr JC Muyingo
Every year, a large number of graduates get released into the job market after leaving universities. But only a small percentage of these launch their careers.
Over the years, as an employer and a trainer, I have realised that most of our graduates do not have the soft skills to help them enter or stay in the job market.
Employers are increasingly looking for graduates who can add value to their organisations or businesses. Unluckily, some graduates need instruction on fundamental topics, such as computer usage, social graces, dressing or even coming up with basic communication documentation at work. This means there is something wrong with their training.
In the Soft Skills for Business Success report, Deloitte analysts estimated that by 2030, almost two-thirds of all occupations would be based on soft skills. There is a particular reason for that: automation and digitisation of working processes. These are pushing employees to develop and deepen their soft skills to stay ahead of the competition and bring value to their organisations.
Moreover, a study by McKinsey shows that up to 30% of working time could be automated by 2030. This fact makes candidates focus on “exclusively” human soft skills that machines cannot replace. For example, interpreting data and coming up with creative solutions. Some of the top soft skills of the future include problem-solving, negotiation and reasoning, critical thinking, time management, resilience, leadership and social influence.
The reality is that employers know that the world is changing rapidly and work is evolving. Empathy, emotional intelligence, kindness, mindfulness, adaptability, integrity, optimism, self-motivation, grit and resilience have all become critical success factors. For instance, most organisations need self-motivated workers, people who have intrinsic motivation and people who do not need supervision and management.
Self-motivation and self-direction enable people to take initiative and ownership of their work, set achievable goals and adapt their plans accordingly. These skills are vital for success.
Competence-Based Education
This brings me to my concern and plea to all universities and higher institutions of learning. We need to have competence-based education in higher institutions of learning.
We also need to begin focusing on offering career-based learning to our graduates. This will give them the soft skills needed for their survival in the job market.
Several studies show that the future of learning lies in the hands of graduates, who can embrace technology and those who are innovative. Developing and enhancing human skills and capabilities through education, learning and meaningful work are key drivers of economic success, individual well-being and societal cohesion. This changing landscape does not necessarily require a policy change.
All owners of universities and academic institutions need to just look beyond what they have been doing to offer education that is meaningful. Regurgitating the material in textbooks and cramming work cannot be the future for our children.
As Government, we will continue putting in place policies to support a conducive investment environment to nurture the growth of our students. But this is a joint effort between the teachers, Government and parents. Some of these institutions will take a long time to embrace the teaching of soft skills. But as a parent, what is your contribution to ensuring that our children have these soft skills to survive? We must start training our students for the future.
The writer is the state minister for higher education
