Hard Skills, Soft Skills...

It is June 2017, but an article that I had read in September 2015 seems to be very applicable today. This article written by Barbara Bowes speaks about how the workplace has changed and how technology has changed how we work. The article also focused on the skills needed to succeed in this fast-paced world of work. What kinds of skills are required? There are two types of skills needed to succeed in the work force:  hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are the skills needed to do the job (i.e. computer programming, accounting, nursing, web design, etc.); soft skills are the interactive personable skills (i.e. leadership, communicating, working as a team, problem-solving, etc.). 
 
So how do we prepare young people leaving high school to either work or enter the post-secondary world? Young people need both hard and soft skills.  They need to involve themselves in work experiences via extracurricular activities, coaching a sports team, mentoring younger students, going on a Mission trip, running for student council, youth group activities, volunteering or getting a job in a fast-food restaurant where they learn the “skills of life.”
 
These are all positive ways to help young people be more prepared for life after high school. The end goal is that they are equipped to serve in the local and global community with their giftedness and passion.
  
Bowes, Barbara, “Strategize to keep pace with the Changing World”, Winnipeg Free Press, Sat. Sept 28, 2015.

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