Employability Skills: Their Importance in Professional Development

This essay explores the crucial role of employability skills in today's job market. It defines employability skills as foundational skills, personality traits, qualities, and values that enable individuals to adapt to new jobs and workplaces. The essay highlights key employability skills such as communication, problem-solving, self-motivation, teamwork, ethics, flexibility, organizational skills, technology skills, ability to work under pressure, and willingness to learn. It emphasizes the benefits of possessing these skills, including increased competitiveness, ease of transition to new roles, improved teamwork, and enhanced company performance. The essay concludes that in a service-led economy, employability skills are essential for employees and can be learned through training, making them a valuable asset for career success.

Running head: IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS 1
Employability Skills and Its Importance
Name
Institutional Affiliation

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What are employability skills and why is it important for potential employees to possess
them?
In today's evolving job environment, employers are looking for employees who possess
more than qualifications and experience to fill the different positions being interviewed for.
Hence individuals need to have employability skills on top of the qualifications and experience
they have so that they stand out from the rest thus they have an advantage over the rest.
Employability skills, therefore, are important skills, personality traits and qualities, and values
which an individual possesses which helps them to adjust to a new job or workplace easily.
These skills are mostly referred to as foundational skills and are soft skills which are transferable
qualities that an individual has that make them employable especially in the eyes of a potential
employer(Mason & Williams, 2006) . Even if an individual has technical skills and experience
required for a job, employability skills still play an important role in determining whether they
get the job.
There are various employability skills that individuals can possess to help them be above
the rest of the competition. First is good communication and interpersonal skills which are a
quality that the majority of employers rank as the most important foundational skill for an
individual to possess. It is the ability of an individual to listen effectively to their managers and
coworkers and then communicate with them appropriately after which they act on what has been
communicated appropriately (Ju, Zhang, & Pacha, 2012). Also, it is the ability of an individual to
explain what they mean in a clear and easy manner through both verbal and written
communication.

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Problem-solving and critical thinking is another foundational skill that is important for
individuals to have. It is where an individual can look at a problem understand it by breaking it
down, analyze it deeply and then identify the solutions to the problem. Therefore the individual
can apply this skill in the various areas involved in solving a problem. Employees need to be able
to think logically in any situation and then come up with reasoned judgments and conclusions.
Next is self-motivation and initiative are where an individual has the ability to come up with
creative ideas and also think up improvements to the way things are in a company. When the
individual comes up with this creative idea this skill also enables them to implement them on
their own and not waiting to be told what to do (Miller, Biggart, & Newton, 2013).
Another skill is teamwork which is very important in any workplace situation. It is where
an individual is good at working with other people both with those in the workplace and also
other people whom you come in contact with while working at your company. Most projects in
different companies require people to work together for it to be completed therefore one needs to
possess this skill as they are bound to work in a group at some point of their employment. Ethics
is another important foundational skill and it is a broad term which covers an individual’s values
and principles (Wilton, 2011). Therefore, it is the ability of an individual to follow all the rules
set at the company that employs them, be honest and also act in a professional and responsible
manner.
Flexibility is another skill. It is the ability of a person to not get flustered when things at
work do not go the way it is supposed to but to adapt to the situation and make the best of it.
Next is organizational skills. It is the ability to be methodical and organized while carrying out
their duties at work. The individual is able to plan their duties well so that they meet set
deadlines and targets (Rosenberg, Heimler, & Morote, 2012). Therefore, this skill allows the

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individual to find out what is required of them, make a plan on how to go about completing it
and then execute the set plan effectively.
Technology skills is another one that is important to an employee. In today's workplace,
it is important for all workers to have general technological skills since most work today is done
using some sort of technology like emails and using photocopiers, therefore by possessing this
skill, the employee will have an easier time doing their job. Another important skill is the ability
to work under pressure and tight deadlines. This ability allows the employee to handle and
manage any kind of stress that accompanies the pressure set by tight deadlines at work and thus
they will be able to do their duties well no matter the situation they are in. Finally is a
willingness to learn. This skill is where the person is happy to learn new things without having
being forced. Nobody is perfect thus this ability shows that the employee is willing to get new
knowledge about their job when the opportunity presents itself and they can also pick up new
things quickly ("Top ten employability skills", 2018).
With the ever-evolving workplace and environment, employers are increasingly looking
for employees who possess generic employability skills in addition to technical skills. Possessing
these employability skills are important for a variety of reasons. First, the labor market is now
getting competitive therefore individuals need to possess these soft skills so that they can stand
above the rest. As employers peruse through resumes, potential employees with these skills will
stand out and thus will have a better chance of getting the job as shown in a current study that
showed employers preferred employees with foundational skills (Lumley & Wilkinson, 2014).
Next, since these skills are transferable, it helps individuals transition to new job duties whenever
they get assigned to them. Therefore, this means individuals who possess these employability

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skills can easily get promoted in the workplace since these skills allow them to be flexible and
thus excel in anything they undertake.
Another importance is that a skill like communication is used in everyday activities in the
workplace. Therefore it allows employees to work well together since they can pass on
information about the different tasks given effectively and thus set deadlines and targets will be
met. When this happens it ensures that the company remains profitable. Next, a skill like
teamwork is used regularly in the workplace when there are huge projects which require different
people to pitch in so that it can get completed. Thus these skills help these teams to work
effectively ensuring that the projects get completed in time without any hitches (Clarke, 2008).
Next, employers view this as a service you give to the company as an employee. Since
employees are required to do everything their power to help with the success of a company,
possessing these skills help achieve this goal. Organisational skills help employees plan their
duties well and execute them well while problem-solving skills allow them to come up with
solutions to problems that might come up. Therefore when employees apply these and more
employability skills it ensures the growth and profitability of a company. Another one is that
these foundational skills aid employers by acting as performance indicators. These skills help
employers measure whether cognitively an employee will perform well when they get the
position (Husain, Mokhtar, Ahmad, & Mustapha, 2010). Even if one has the necessary technical
qualifications and experience lack of employability skills will be a flaw in the performance.
Next, employees who have these skills save the company a lot of money. They do so
since employers do not have to organize seminars to teach them these skills. Such skills are
important in the workplace since they help employees tackle their duties easily such as adapting
to any situation no matter how difficult it is and also handling and managing any stress that

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comes with the job. Therefore as they are desirable skills to possess employers to require their
employees to have them and if not they have to train them and thus if the employees already
have them there will be no need to use the money to organize such seminars. Finally, in today's
competitive workplace, employers both in private and public sector are looking for employees
who have the ability to be flexible, take charge, be creative and have the ability to undertake the
different task and ensure they complete them well (Lowden, Hall, Elliot, & Lewin, 2011). Such
employees ensure the success of the company in the long run.
In conclusion, the world's economy is now shifting from production to a service-led
economy and employability skills are among the things that such an economy requires from
employees. Therefore it is essential for employees to possess them as they are quite beneficial.
the skills are transferable hence an individual can easily transition from one workplace to another
without having to relearn these skills. The good thing about these foundational skills is that like
technical or hard skills, they can be learned through training and thus this means individuals can
learn this and they will remain relevant in the workplace. More and more employers continue to
prefer employees who possess these skills and thus this means that it is important for graduates
or new potential employees to possess them to ensure that they remain on top of the competition.
However, more research needs to be done on this subject to ensure that individuals have the
necessary information on it.

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References
Clarke, M. (2008). Understanding and managing employability in changing career
contexts. Journal of European Industrial Training, 32(4), 258-284.
Husain, M. Y., Mokhtar, S. B., Ahmad, A. A., & Mustapha, R. (2010). Importance of
employability skills from employers’ perspective. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
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Ju, S., Zhang, D., & Pacha, J. (2012). Employability skills valued by employers as important for
entry-level employees with and without disabilities. Career Development and Transition
for Exceptional Individuals, 35(1), 29-38.
Lowden, K., Hall, S., Elliot, D., & Lewin, J. (2011). Employers’ perceptions of the employability
skills of new graduates. London: Edge Foundation.
Lumley, M., & Wilkinson, J. 2014. Developing employability for business. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Mason, G., & Williams, G. 2006. Employability Skills Initiatives in Higher Education. London:
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Miller, L., Biggart, A., & Newton, B. (2013). Basic and employability skills. International
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Rosenberg, S., Heimler, R., & Morote, E. S. (2012). Basic employability skills: a triangular
design approach. Education+ Training, 54(1), 7-20.
Top ten employability skills. 2018. Kent.ac.uk. https://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/top-ten-
skills.htm, August 30, 2018.

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Wilton, N. (2011). Do employability skills really matter in the UK graduate labour market? The
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