Based on a number of surveys on the skills required by graduates undertaken by Microsoft, Target Jobs, the BBC, Prospects, NACE and AGR and other organizations, here is our summary of the skills which were most often deemed important.
| 1 | Able to express your ideas clearly and confidently in speech | |
| 2 | Work confidently within a group | |
| COMMERCIAL AWARENESS | 3 | Understand the commercial realities affecting the organization. |
ANALYSING & INVESTIGATING | 4 | Gather information systematically to establish facts & principles. Problem-solving. |
| INITIATIVE/SELF MOTIVATION | 5 | Able to act on initiative, identify opportunities & proactive in putting forward ideas & solutions |
| DRIVE | 6 | Determination to get things done. Make things happen & constantly looking for better ways of doing things. |
| 7 | Able to express yourself clearly in writing | |
| PLANNING & ORGANISING | 8 | Able to plan activities & carry them through effectively |
| 9 | Adapt successfully to changing situations & environments | |
| TIME MANAGEMENT | 10 | Manage time effectively, prioritizing tasks and able to work to deadlines. |
| Other skills that were also seen as important | ||
| GLOBAL SKILLS | Able to speak and understand other languages. Appreciation of other cultures. See | |
| Able to influence and convince others, to discuss and reach an agreement. | ||
| Able to motivate and direct others | ||
Multiply & divide accurately, calculate percentages, use statistics & a calculator, interpret graphs & tables. | ||
| COMPUTING SKILLS | Word-processing, using databases, spreadsheets, the Internet & email, designing web pages etc. | |
| SELF AWARENESS | Awareness of achievements, abilities, values & weaknesses & what you want out of life. | |
| PERSONAL IMPACT/CONFIDENCE | Presents a strong, professional, positive image to others which inspires confidence & commands respect. | |
| LIFELONG LEARNING | Continues to learn throughout life. Develops the competencies needed for current & future roles | |
| STRESS TOLERANCE | Maintains effective performance under pressure | |
| INTEGRITY | Adheres to standards & procedures, maintains confidentiality and questions inappropriate behavior. | |
| INDEPENDENCE | Accepts responsibility for views & actions and able to work under their own direction & initiative. | |
| Pays care & attention to quality in all their work. Supports & empowers others. | ||
| ACTION PLANNING | Able to decide what steps are needed to achieve particular goals and then implement these. | |
| DECISION-MAKING | Determines the best course of action. Evaluates options based on logic & fact & presents solutions | |
| INTERPERSONAL SENSITIVITY | Recognises & respects different perspectives. Open to the ideas & views of others | |
| CREATIVITY | Generates & applying new ideas & solutions |
The most important skills to develop in employees to drive company growth over the next five years were (according to the Flux Report by Right Management):
- Leadership skills 62%
- Management skills 62%
- Interpersonal skills 53%
- Innovation and creativity 45%
- Resilience 43%
- Technical/specialist skills 40%
- IT skills 40%
- Sales/marketing skills 32%
- Client management skills 24%
- Other/none of the above 4%
Now continue to our other skills pages
https://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/top-ten-skills.htm
A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money. The old gentleman fingered his expensive tweed coat and said:
“Well son, it was 1932. The depth of the Depression. I was down to my last penny. I invested that penny in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing that apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for two pennies.
The next morning, I invested that tuppence in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them for four pence.
I continued this system of polishing and selling, each time reinvesting my profits into buying more apples.”
“Wow!” said the young man, “and that’s how you accumulated your fortune?”
“Nah”, said the old man, “my wife’s father died and left us a million pounds”.
