In 2017, McKinsey Global Institute reported that 44% of current work activity hours will be automated by 2030, and 33% of the 2030 workforce’s occupations will be different. Even now computers can do just about anything, but there is one area in which they cannot replace humans, and that is the area of soft skills. If we want to stay ahead in our careers and remain competitive, we need to keep evolving in terms of these skills. For this reason, soft skills training is becoming essential.

What are these soft skills?

Soft skills include traits like empathy, people skills, listening skills and communication skills, among others. These skills enable us to interact effectively with others and they can impact attitudes, behaviors, mindsets, culture and leadership. They fall into the following categories:

Creative thinking

Advanced communication and negotiation skills

Interpersonal skills and empathy

Leadership and management skills

Entrepreneurship and initiative-taking

Adaptability and continuous learning skills

Teaching and training skills

Look at your profession and ask how you can be better

No one needs to be reminded that we live in turbulent times. Many of our jobs or skills will probably not be needed 10 years from now and chances are that our current skillset will no longer be relevant. How then can we adapt so that we remain competitive?

One way to start this transformation process would be to go beyond the static ‘diploma model’ and adapt to a dynamic process of lifelong learning. In the portfolio of one’s skills, the apprenticeship/ diploma/ degree becomes the foundation of initial, accomplished projects and following that is a list of technical and soft skills that have been learned in modules. The nature of lifelong learning projects might include, for example, the development of entrepreneurial and social skills, such as team leading, design thinking and taking initiative.  These skills will be very important in the future, as they are extremely difficult to automate. This portfolio of learning is open-ended and must be updated throughout life, because technologies and demands are changing at an unprecedented rate.

Popular websites that offer courses to learn soft skills include Coursera, LinkedIn learning, Udemy, and edX.

Think like an entrepreneur

Robots and computers are good at working off data, but what they are not good at is developing original ideas. For this reason, creative, original thinkers are increasingly sought after. There is empirical data that supports this.

Paul Petrone of LinkedIn Learning at LinkedIn, said he was surprised by the results of a survey done with corporates globally to determine the skills companies need most. Surprisingly, at the very top of the list was creativity. Technically, creativity is the second most in-demand skill in the world, with cloud computing at the top, although cloud computing is not a soft skill.

With creativity being the most in-demand soft skill in the world, I highly recommend an approach to one’s work that involves thinking like an entrepreneur, even if you are a corporate employee. The difference between an entrepreneur and an employee is often as simple as the way the person thinks about their work, and the degree to which they follow up on that thinking.

But what does it mean to think like an entrepreneur? The trick is to imagine how you would do your job if nobody showed you how to do it.  Consider how, in the corporate environment, the business model is a given. However, entrepreneurs continually review their model to reach new customers, improve marketing and sales and provide better service. They think creatively and adapt to new developments instead of limiting themselves to the fixed business model.

Investing and evolving

Again, let me emphasize that AI has transformed so many process-driven jobs and is making so many traditional careers redundant that the best investment you can make is the investment in yourself by strengthening and growing your soft skills. Today, companies need people who can think, find solutions and be creative in their approach. Soft skills are still skills and they can be learned and refined. This can also be a way to deal with all the negativity in the world around us. Take a moment to re-evaluate, and to make use of the thousands of free courses offered online. Push yourself to become a newer, better version of yourself!

As Ernest Hemingway wrote:

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.”