The evidence
Recent Reports
Published 2018
Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends
LinkedIn Workplace Learning & Development Report
Department for Education Employer Skills Survey from 2017
CIPD Over-skilled and underused report
Solving the UK Skills Shortage
McKinsey Skills Shift Automation and the Future of the Workforce
Published 2017
McKinsey Jobs Lost Jobs Gained
All parties agree, the #1 priority for talent development in 2018 is training for soft skills.
%
of executives say that soft skills are equally important or more important than technical skills
The 10 most common graduate skills gaps:
- Managing up
- Dealing with conflict
- Negotiating/Influence
- Commercial awareness
- Resilience
- Business-appropriate communication
- Self-awareness
- Time management
- Problem solving
- Interpersonal skills
The Institute of Student Employers (ISE) Annual Development Survey March 2018
%
of researchers agree that they have a moral responsibility to engage with the public
Most researchers have done at least one form of public engagement in the past 12 months, though activity is often infrequent. Only 28% of researchers have received formal training in public engagement. Only 11% of STEM and 18% AHSS researchers feel very well equipped to to do public engagement.
Jim – All this stuff that you do with public engagement in science…. How important is it, would you say, that Scientists do participate in public life?
Alice – I think it’s absolutely crucial, for lots of different reasons actually. So, I think it’s important because science is a part of our culture and it enriches our culture. I think it’s important because science is very often publicly funded so there’s a moral imperative for those scientists to talk about what they are doing. I think it’s important because, where will the next generation of scientists come from if scientists are not talking about their work with the wider public. And I think it also feeds back and improves our scientific research as well because it makes you look at your own science in a different way.
Alice Roberts (Speaking on The Life Scientific, BBC Radio 4)
The most highly rated skill in terms of importance for work was communication skills, which were rated as either very important (56%) or fairly important (34%) by the majority of respondents.
The most highly rated skill in terms of importance for work was communication skills, which were rated as either very important (56%) or fairly important (34%) by the majority of respondents.
Workers of the future will spend more time on activities that machines are less capable of, such as managing people, applying expertise, and communicating with others. The skills and capabilities required will also shift, requiring more social and emotional skills and more advanced cognitive capabilities, such as logical reasoning and creativity.
At the interview stage, the businesses surveyed are overwhelmingly likely to decide between two equally qualifies candidates based on:
70% performance in interview
50% quality of the job application
24% skills gained in extra-curricular activities
Engaging with the public is of increasing strategic importance for higher education, to strengthen relevance, responsiveness and accountability and to build trust.
