A skill gap in the social and interpersonal skills required for employment may be difficult for many businesses and individuals to assess due to a number of factors. These soft skills are considered beneficial in all occupations and industries as they contribute to business success. However, the major problem these businesses face when assessing skill levels, is that there is a variation in the skill levels of soft skills. A variety of studies have explored this variation in order to gain a greater understanding of their importance to the workforce and the impact that a soft skills gap can have on a business. The varying skill levels is due to withdrawal of skills, lack of recruitment skills and education of employees (Hurrell, 2016; Sander, 2017).
The withdrawal of soft skills by an employee causes an issue for businesses and individuals when determining skill levels. This withdrawal may be due to an employee’s dissatisfaction with their employer (Hurrell, 2016). Employees who possess soft skills may decide not to utilise their skills due to this disaffection which emphasises the difficulties when assessing skill level as employees mask their abilities. By masking their skills, employers are unaware of the potential of their employees which is crucial as soft skills are a vital skill required for the success of all occupations and industries. This is further examined when Hurrell (2016) states that elements such as working environment, pay and work-life balance contribute to skills withdrawal within the workplace. This demonstrates the poor job quality which is placed upon these individuals causes a lack of skills to be displayed by individuals. Clark (2005) explores the relationship between job quality and job satisfaction in the United Kingdom. It is discovered that a decline in job quality lead to a decline in job satisfaction which peruses the role employee satisfaction has on the withdrawal of soft skills due to employee disaffection as demonstrated by Hurrell (2016). This correlation leads to a difference in skill level which is false as the reduced effort by employees is seen as the skill gap. However, dissatisfied employees may possess soft skills beyond what they are expressing. This is detrimental to the business as there is a 3% gap in productivity due to soft skill level which leads to an increase of $90,000 on for Australian businesses (Deloitte, 2017). This stresses the importance of soft skills in the workplace and how it is critical to ensure that employees do not withdraw their abilities due to dissatisfaction with their employer or job quality as it leads to a loss for the business.
Recruitment through selection, induction and training processes play a role in the skill levels of employees. This process is essential to business success as selecting the right employees with higher soft skill level for the job leads to greater levels of productivity and efficiency. This is evident as businesses place a focus on a high level of soft skills when conducting the selection process (“TCS Focusing on Softskills Development of Employees”, 2014). This elucidates the importance of high soft skill levels as it is highly sought after by many businesses due to the skills it provides such as the verbal and written communication skills as reported by Sander (2017). Failure to provide adequate induction and training to employees causes a drop in the skill level which can make it difficult to assess skill levels as some employees may develop soft skills in training. Hurrell (2016) states that training can conflict with employers’ needs for employees to show initiative. This creates an imbalance in the workplace which makes it a challenge to assess skill levels. Furthermore, different approaches in selection, induction and training were found to yield variations in soft skill levels as some methods improved an employees’ technical skillset rather than soft skills (Hurrell, 2016). This creates the impression that employers are utilising training methods that enhance their employees’ soft skills however, they could be improving employees’ technical skillset instead. This method demonstrates that a skill gap could be established if employers are unaware of their recruitment techniques. This emphasises the difficulty in assessing skill level as a lack of recruitment skills allows for employees to be selected who have a low level or do not possess the required soft skills needed for the job. Additionally, employees may be poorly trained and inducted into the business due to poor recruitment methods which may not allow them to showcase their level of soft skills. Being able to display soft skills is pivotal to the success of a business as they are equally as important as technical skill. This stresses the importance of soft skills in order to allow businesses to flourish, with a high demand placed on them by employers for institutions.
Education is a critical aspect of soft skill levels as they are developed by educational institutions. The importance of educational institutions in lowering the skill gap is evident as Sander (2017) states that institutions are redesigning their syllabus, placing a focus on skills required for future employment. This change in teaching demonstrates how skill level is difficult to be assessed as it is an intangible quality. Soft skills are viewed as an important aspect in higher education as Adams (2012) reports that learning soft skills such as communication, team work and interpersonal skills are the keys to success in higher education. It emphasises the importance of soft skills to occupations and industries as businesses wish to gain benefits from these employees with a high level of soft skills. This is further explored as Sander (2017) states that future jobs will require critical thinking, problem solving and presentation skills much more than jobs in the present. However, the United States ranks last in the world for higher education completion rates (Adams, 2012). This illustrates the difficulty in assessing skill levels as soft skills are in demand by businesses but the educational institutions which provide individuals with growth of soft skills have a low completion rate. These educational institutions are needed to equip employees and future employees with the social and interpersonal skills required in the workplace. This leads to benefits for the businesses which utilise these skills in their operations as an absence of soft skills leads to financial loss as reported by both Sanders (2017) and Deloitte (2017). Education is clearly essential to the development of the soft skills required for employment in all occupations and industries as it allows for a higher level to be acquired as it is often difficult to assess skill levels without education.
Ultimately, there are many factors that contribute to the difficulties faced when assessing skill levels. However, if these skills are utilised correctly, it may lead to success for the businesses. These factors are demonstrated through the skill gap present in businesses. The withdrawal of soft skills due to dissatisfaction causes employees to mask their skills and abilities from their employers. Recruitment strategies and methods are another issue which can lead to increased or decreased productivity and efficiency depending on the effectiveness of selection, induction and training processes. Education plays a major role in soft skill levels as it provides the key to growth and development of these skills which are in demand by businesses. All literature represented demonstrate the importance of soft skills in business success while keeping in mind the difficulties when objectively assessing skill levels.