Not only a matter of academic ability. An employee is also required to have good employability skills. Employability skills are the abilities and skills of workers or employees to get and keep jobs.
Every employee also needs employability skills to carry out their duties and responsibilities effectively and efficiently to positively impact the company.
What is Employability Skills
Finding a job is not easy because the competition is getting tougher. However, you can stand out from other candidates with employability skills.
So what are employability skills, and why is this so important?
According to the ILO (International Labor Organization), employability skills are skills, knowledge, and competencies that can improve the ability of workers to get or keep a job.
Meanwhile, according to The Balance Careers, employability skills are core skills that are needed in almost every job.
Some skills, such as being able to work with others, having the ability to solve problems, and quickly adapting to the surrounding environment, are examples of employability skills.
This is similar to transferable skills because these skill sets can be transferred or taught to other people.
Employability Skills and Ability
Employability skills or work skills need to be owned by human resources at all career levels in the world of work.
Thus, workers can always work effectively and efficiently, thereby having a positive impact on the progress of the company. It means that only companies whose workers have qualified work skills can develop properly.
1. Communication Skills
The first example of employability skills is communication skills. Whatever the job, a recruiter will look for candidates who can master communication well.
Without having good communication skills, of course, it won’t be easy to try to get close to other colleagues. When relationships with colleagues and superiors are not good, it will affect work productivity.
2. Teamwork
The ability to work with a team is no less essential to have. When working, it is impossible for us always to do it alone.
There must be a time when we must complete a project that must be done together with others. So, with this skill, you will be able to deal with other people and work with them. That is why if you want to be successful in the world of work, you must be able to work with a team.
3. Problem-solving & Critical Thinking skills
It is the ability to face and overcome problems in the company. A candidate who has this ability will attract the attention of recruiters.
The reason is, in any job, every employee must be able to assess something first before starting to conclude.
This critical thinking ability races on a person’s ability to understand, analyze, and interpret information before solving a problem.
4. Leadership Skills
Leadership or leadership skills are also always needed in every job. That’s why every recruiter will usually look for candidates who already have this skill.
True leadership abilities are not only needed in jobs with managerial positions.
Because every employee at every level of position should also own this ability.
For example, suppose you currently work as staff in a company. In that case, there’s nothing wrong with trying to deepen your leadership skills.
This skill will make employees look more prominent and make it easy to get promoted.
5. Planning and organizing
Organizing and planning something effectively is a challenging job. With this ability, you can save time, effort, and even money or costs incurred in a job.
To have this ability, you can learn to prioritize assignments and work, make schedules, and complete them on time.
6. Self-Management ability
Self-management ability is another example of employability skills. If you look at job vacancies, you may need help finding the requirements to have this skill.
However, a candidate with this ability will be considered by recruiters because he has a greater chance of being accepted.
Self-management skills refer to the ability to manage time to complete work on time.
When you can manage time well, productivity will increase because work can be completed according to the deadline given.
7. Willing to learn
Learning skills or learning abilities help employees to understand new concepts, information, and methods. This ability will make it easier for employees to adapt to their jobs and duties.
In addition, the ability to learn also means constantly working to improve your skills and knowledge.
8. Initiatives
The ability to take the initiative means recognizing a problem and how to solve it. In every crisis, employees need to have the initiative to resolve it.
It shows independence and the ability to act quickly when needed.
Benefits of Having Employability Skills
1. Remain relevant in a changing industry
Currently, the availability of job vacancies and the competition to get a job are increasingly complex.
Not only because there are few vacancies, but a large number of candidates also affects the difficulty of competing in the industry.
Employability skills can make you more prominent, potential, and relevant than other candidates.
2. Expanding the scope of work
Having employability skills means being able to compete in various fields. In specific industries, these skills can put you in a better position.
Apart from that, with employability skills, you can expand the career choices that you can pursue. The choice of companies that you can apply to is even more diverse.
3. Easier career transition
Often in your career, you will be faced with dilemmas and uncertainties.
Your current career may not be suitable, and you may want to change direction.
Of course, doing so is not easy and requires adaptation. So, this is when employability skills come into play.
This ability will make it easier to change careers, such as changing positions and the work industry.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Employability is a skill that can be developed and trained. By having employability skills, a person’s chances of getting hired will be greater than if you only have academic skills.
Some examples of employability skills are communication skills, team work skills, willing to learn skills, leadership skills, planning & organizing skills, and self-management skills.
Basically all of these skills are a form of soft skills that can help companies to grow.