Report monetises risk of ignoring skills like communications and teamwork
Soft skills such as teamwork, time-management and communication contribute £88bn to the UK economy, according to a report from research group Development Economics.
The report warned that employers need to find new ways to recognise and improve soft skills or risk undermining the productivity of more than half a million workers by 2020.
Published alongside the launch of a campaign calling for the revision of the value of soft skills, the report suggests that a deficit in this area will cost the UK close to £8.4 billion a year by 2020 in lost production.
Led by McDonald’s and backed by organisations including CBI, LearnDirect and Barclays, the campaign calls on businesses, policy experts, trade associations and academics to help create and share new ways to recognise and improve soft skills in the workplace.
Jez Langhorn, chief people officer at McDonald’s UK and Northern Europe, said “Soft skills like communication and teamwork are incredibly important to our business because of the impact they can have on our customers’ experience. As integral as they are to the performance and progression of our employees, I know that we can do more to recognise their importance which is why we are launching this campaign,”
According to a YouGov poll of more than 600 senior managers, 97 per cent believe soft skills are important to their current business success, yet three-quarters of employers have already identified a soft-skills gap in the UK workforce.
Speaking to the BBC, Langhorn suggested that the term ‘soft skills’ wasn’t always fully understood and: “They probably have a reputational problem,” he said.
A separate YouGov poll conducted in 2014 suggested that one in five UK employees wouldn’t feel confident describing their soft skills to an employer, and 54 per cent have never included soft skills on their CV.
Neil Carberry, CBI director for employment and skills, said this could be particularly detrimental for young people trying to enter the labour market,.
“Business is clear that developing the right attitudes and attributes in people - such as resilience, respect, enthusiasm and creativity - is just as important as academic or technical skills,” he said.
“In an ever more competitive jobs market it is such qualities that will give our young talent a head start and also allow existing employees to progress to higher skilled, better paid roles,” he added.
Katerina Rüdiger, the CIPD’s head of skills and policy campaigns, said communicating an individual’s soft skills could be key to getting a job.
“Our members, HR professionals who oversee recruitment, regularly tell us that so called ‘soft skills’, such as communication, teamwork and resilience, are among the key attributes they look for when they recruit. If young people are to be able to transition successfully from education to the world of work they must be given the opportunity to develop and demonstrate these skills.
“We’re pleased to support the McDonald’s UK campaign to drive up awareness of this important topic,” she added.