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Soft Skill Development Is Essential: Students Aren’t Ready for the Workforce

Written by Ann Sullivan

Teacher Trevor Muir, wrote a blog on a thought-provoking topic; soft-skills are not necessarily ‘soft,’ they should be called ‘essential skills.’

To support that, five of the main reasons millennials get fired is because they lack these essential skills.

Those skills include:

  • Independence
  • Confidence
  • Composure
  • Communication
  • Vision

We need to take a new approach to these skills and make soft-skill development an essential part of education—right next to English, math, science and history.

Muir’s point is that there is nothing soft about getting fired. If employers are looking for these skills, why do they take a back seat in education?

This issue is not the teacher’s fault, it is a systematic issue that needs to be corrected so future generations can be successful.

Communication, collaboration, critical thinking, work ethic, and confidence are essential skills for young people to have and they gain those skills every day in a SmartLab Learning solution.

To learn and master those skills, we should ensure they play a larger role in our students’ education. According to LinkedIn, 92% of talent professionals and hiring managers say that soft skills are just as important, if not more important, as hard skills.

Helping learners develop next-gen skills is intentionally designed into every SmartLab Learning solution.
AnnSullivan
Ann Sullivan

Ann Sullivan is the Creative Director at SmartLab, leading brand strategy and creative development to expand SmartLab’s presence in schools across America. A former art educator in the Greater New York City area, she brings a deep understanding of student-centered learning and the power of creativity to strengthen learning outcomes. At SmartLab, she shapes the company’s voice, visual identity, and storytelling, helping communicate SmartLab’s impact in preparing students for the future.

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