The Top 5 Soft Skills You Need to Future Proof Your Career

Almost everyone is starting to think about the future of work and how progressions in technology and AI will impact the working world of the future. With many jobs already automated and a whole lot more set to follow suit, what can you do now to future proof your career?

The answer lies in ‘soft skills.’ Because many businesses and colleges have long focused on hard skills, which are the ones that can be easily automated, students are often entering the world of work without the much needed soft skills that will set them apart from their robot competition. HR departments across all industries are now altering the way they recruit and, more importantly, what they recruit for.

At Griffith College, we believe in fully equipping our students for the world of work with the technical skills that are taught by industry experts as well as the softer skills that are often forgotten. Schools Liaison Officer Sinead O’Callaghan knows the importance of arming our students with soft skills:

“A person’s ability to voice their ideas, work as part of a team and demonstrate initiative can never be replaced by machines. If graduates display these soft skills in an entry-level role they’ll soon find themselves exposed to new opportunities and possible progression routes within a company or sector.”

So what soft skills do you need in order to future proof your career?

Communication

Being able to communicate both with fellow team members and your consumers is essential for a business's success. A recent Google study found that 60% of consumers would still prefer to speak to a person when they have a query over a robot. Human interaction is often what stays in a consumer's mind when they think of a company, therefore, arming yourself with good communication and ‘people’ skills will go a long way to future-proofing your skillset.

Creativity

Robots and AI are great at taking on the roles that are more structured and have a specific system or routine. What they lack, however, is creativity. Businesses aren’t likely to start using robots to come up with new ideas and think outside the box which is where you come in. Being able to put new ideas on the table confidently is a great way to set yourself apart from both your peers and robots.

Problem-Solving

No matter how advanced technology becomes, there will always be the need to have real humans on the ground in case something goes wrong. Whilst robots can think for themselves to some extent, they aren’t able to assess a situation and figure out a solution to a problem in the same way that humans can. Problem-solving and critical thinking are two of the skills you'll learn at Griffith College that will help to future-proof your career.

Innovation & Vision

It’s easy to forget that all of the technical advances in the last few years still stemmed from people. It was people who came up with the ideas and put them into practice and that’s something that businesses, no matter what industry they’re in, will always need. In order to not get left behind, you need to be able to not only come up with new ideas but adapt them. A strong imagination and vision will make you the perfect candidate to work alongside robots and colleagues alike.

Leadership

Even robots will need to be told what to do from time to time and a good leader is essential in order to keep humans and robots working well in parallel with each other. A good leader can both direct and listen and we believe in giving students the opportunity to lead their peers in their learning in order to develop these skills for the world of work.

There is no doubt that technology will play a major part in the future of the workplace and developing these soft skills to ensure you can work alongside future AI co-workers is a key way of future-proofing your career.