Are Soft Skills Relevant in the Age of AI?
Soft skills, employability skills, durable skills, foundational skills, 21st century skills…a skill by any other name still smells like interpersonal, inherently human traits that can make or break us in the workplace. We spend a lot of time talking about and teaching these skills to employees, leaders, and people preparing to enter the workforce.
Are they still relevant, though?
What exactly are soft skills? They’re a set of personal attributes and qualities that enhance our ability to interact effectively with others, both in our personal and professional life. These skills are distinct from technical or hard skills, which are job-specific and relate to an individual's expertise in a particular field or discipline. Soft skills are generally transferable and can be valuable in a wide range of situations. This concept of differentiating between hard and soft skills needed for a job was named “soft skills” by the U.S. Army in the early 70’s, an effort in working more effectively in the civilian community. Typically, we think of these skills as things like communication (written and verbal), teamwork, problem-solving, time management, customer service, dependability, relationship building, etc. Probably not too surprising, the list of what are considered “soft skills” hasn’t changed much since the 70’s. But will they change or still be relevant in a time when computers, specifically AI, are gaining ground in the workplace?
Maybe chat bots will improve our written communication skills, and definitely AI programs can problem solve as well, maybe better, than the humans facing the problem, but mostly, it seems to me (and experts who know much more than I) that computers will do the things they can do better than us (like computation, data analysis, product creation, logic), and the job skills that require inherently human traits like emotional intelligence, empathy, compassion, and creative judgment, and discernment will not only still be provided by us (the humans), they will be even more in demand.
If you can remember the 70’s, you know that technology has disrupted the way we work and live in ways that were unimaginable even ten years before that. Remember the ginormous “mobile” phones? Remember when a ‘computer’ took up a whole floor at your university and required a punch card? Remember your first ‘desktop’ Tandy computer with its black screen, green letters,? How about hard or floppy discs? Remember the lunar landing? The world wide web? The thrill of playing Pong? Fiber optics, solar energy, laser surgery, MRI’s, GPS, CCTV, email, Max Headroom, TV, color TV, 8 tracks, cassettes, CDs, online streaming…it’s exhausting. I remember my granddad asking us to park on the side of the road near Reese AFB in Lubbock, Tx so he could watch fighter jets take off and land. He moved from East Texas to the Texas Panhandle in a wagon to find a better job than picking cotton. The better job was working in the oil field. He was fascinated with jets, commercial airplanes, and space travel. Imagine the technological advances he saw in his lifetime.
My point is, technology and innovations have been part of our lives for a while now, and we’ll all survive AI too. It certainly presents us with a whole new set of hard skills that will be needed in the workplace, but the soft skills needed to run a business, interact with others, and excel at building relationships will still be essential. And we aren’t doing a great job of teaching those, by the way, with or without innovations in technology. Recent research indicates that 3 out of 4 employers struggle to find employees who are proficient in the soft skills needed to be successful, even amongst college graduates, where you would think we’d be teaching them.
Unbelievable, innovative technology has already changed how we work and how we think about how we work. In education, we talk a lot about 21st century skills. We can’t limit these to the hard skills; today’s workforce has to possess 21st century soft skills too. Particularly when we talk about second chance hiring, candidates who can adapt, maintain a growth mindset, and bring these interpersonal skills to an ever-changing workplace environment will be invaluable. How are we preparing them?
If you want to explore soft skill instruction for incarcerated students, justice impacted individuals reentering the workforce, secondary or post-secondary students, or your team of employees or leaders, contact me here. I have some solutions.
I hope you’re enjoying a cool autumn-like Sunday morning and sipping on your favorite morning beverage.
Tallyho! Go forth and change the world…using your fabulous soft skills and AI. I know you can! :)
