The Soft Skills Challenge: The left brain’s search for its other half

Zane Scott (Zuken Vitech)

Keywords
Soft skills;education;competency
Abstract

There is an accelerating need for soft skills in the 21st-century workplace. The need currently exceeds the level of those skills present in the workforce creating a recognized gap in soft skills. Despite the acknowledgment by industry and educators of the importance of soft skills and the gap, the structural causes of soft skill deficiencies persist. From negative attitudes about soft skills to the exclusion of their development from educational and industrial training programs, they are being neglected at the same time their importance to workplace success is climbing. This paper examines the soft skills gap, its causes, and some potential solutions for its remediation.