Employability Skills in the 21st Century are going to be different from those in the 20th century as the global business scenario and technology disruptions propel the world forward. Educators and workforce experts frequently caution that modern students require enhanced 21st-century skills. Without these skills, they will not be able to successfully participate in the global economy. They won’t be adequately prepared for college and work.
But what, exactly, are 21st-century skills? Are we just talking about computer and technology skills? And who decides which skills make the list?
It depends on who you ask. But a Hanover Research report, A Crosswalk of 21st Century Skills, sheds some light on the subject.
The Pillars of Employability Skills
The Research recently analyzed six major educational frameworks designed to improve the development of 21st-century skills, including frameworks and critical skills.
While each framework has a slightly different list of critical 21st-century skills, all agree on four critical areas for development:
- Collaboration and teamwork: Being able to work in groups with diverse sets of people to achieve an objective or goal.
- Creativity and imagination: Being able to think out of the box in your way, using good use of your strengths, to solve business problems.
- Critical thinking: Ability to analyze, interpret, evaluate, and synthesize business problems & challenges.
- Problem-solving: Ability to understand and solve business problems & challenges.
More than technological expertise, 21st-century skills refer to content knowledge, literacies and proficiencies that prepare individuals to meet the challenges and opportunities of today’s world.
Other Critical Skills for Success
The Research analysis also identifies a second tier of important 21st-century skills, present in five of the six major frameworks:
- Flexibility and adaptability: Can you adapt to changing global & business scenarios?
- Global and cultural awareness: How well versed are you with the global culture?
- Information/Digital Literacy: Are you good with digital devices and information?
- Leadership: Would you be able to lead a team of people towards a common goal?
The following skills were present in four of the six frameworks:
- Civic literacy and citizenship
- Oral Communication skills
- Written Communication skills
- Social responsibility
Generalization v/s Specialization
With business and life moving at a faster pace than ever, employees need to maintain a keen interest in General domain knowledge along with the specialization that they are working on currently. The demand for specializations can vary from time to time and hence employees should also keep upskilling themselves on other specializations within their domain. The employee of the 21st century requires a good mix of generalization and specialization.
The Emergence of Artificial Intelligence
As we all know, Artificial Intelligence is an emerging technology that is set to transform Industry, Business & Life at large. With the emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs), it has now become easier to embed AI into business applications for end users. With LLMs, it has become possible to work with computers using plain language instead of complicated programs or syntactical language. This implies huge potential for new use cases of AI in day-to-day life & business.
In the 21st century, it will be crucial for employees to have their hands on Artificial Intelligence and its use cases.
Employability skills can vary with time based on the changing Global scenario. However, by being aware of the skills it takes to be employable, you can stay in charge of your career and propel it further to achieve amazing business goals.
