Basic Skills, V.I.S & Soft Skills

Knowledge Collection Learning
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It’s quite obvious that doing the basic mandatory studies isn’t enough anymore. We live in a very competitive and dinamic world, which changes every day. For this reason, I firmly believe that we should do our best to acquire all neccessary skills to resist in this globalised world. But which are those skills?

First of all, there are those which I call “Basic Skills” - Basic because, without them, we couldn’t do anything in the world we live in. And those basic skills are:

  • English - it's mandatory. Maybe you will tell me: "But everybody knows english." Unfurtunately it's not true. It's not true, not only because of somebody's negligence, but also because of the inadequate education systems of some countries.
  • Computer skills - everyone should know how to use the computer, at least at a basic level. Now, for almost every job you have, if you don't know how to use the computer, you are clearly disadvantaged.
Secondly, there are those skills which I call "V.I.S." (Very Important Skills :-) )

We must stand out somehow, facing the competitive labor market. For these reason, we should’t settle knowing english and having basic computer skills. I think we should:

  • Knowing at least one rare language, like chinese or arabic. It would be great to focus on those skills which aren't possessed by everybody.
  • Knowing how to use specific programs on the computer. Clearly, we can't be able to use all specific programs, but if we know something from web design to administrative programs like office package, we are in a very favorable position.
Then there are those Soft skills which are vital for our current or future job. The soft skills I consider important are:
  • Team Spirit - I think we all should have team spirit. By team spirit I meam having the capability to listen others' opinions, working with people who apparently have different interests from ours, etc.
  • Capacity of adaptation in new environments - Here I mean that it's very important to be flexible and open-minded. If you are a good listener and a good collaborator, you can adapt easily in a new work environment and so, be more productive.
  • Being a good negociator - I think negociation is the key for everything. We all had, at least once, to negociate something . If we are able to do that properly, we are surely in a very advantageus position in the labor market.
And now the very important question: Who can help us acquiring those skills which we need so much? Well, up to a certain point, school of course. I mean, particulary those technical skills. But, scholl is not enough. It's not enough for tehnical skills and it's clearly not enough for Important Skills or for Soft Skills. Everyone should be proactive, searching always  for new sources of learning, being involved in all kind of extra-curricula activities, with other people...in a few words, not settle for less and try to reach a self-improvement.
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Do we have what it takes to develop skills?

If school helps to develop only a limited amount of skills, let us say the more technical skills, can parents, or communities, play a role?

Do we have what it takes to develop skills that increase an individual’s sense of independence, self-worth, empowerment and a healthy connectedness with family or friends, and community?

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Absolutely

Surely, the environment where we live in plays a very important role. In order to develop those skills you have to have a good education and some priciples provided from your family. I think that in this condition, everyone has what it takes to develop those soft skills, but it depends very much on our commitment and mainly it depends on how influenced we are from society’s good and bad models.