A Survey of Soft Skills Needed in the 21st Century Workplace
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Published:
Apr 9, 2021
Keywords:
Soft Skills Workplace 21st Century
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Abstract
The objectives of this research were: (1) to synthesis of soft skills needed in the 21st century workplace, and (2) to survey of soft skills needed for modern graduates in perspective of the workplace. The sampling used were employers in the Chiang Mai’s workplace consisting of 120 persons from personal business, ordinary partnerships, company limited, and state enterprises by sampling technique was purposive sampling. The instrument of this study were a questionnaire with a rating scale of 5 levels and ordinal scale included 40 items and the reliability coefficient of the total scale was 0.87. Statistics employed for analyses of the data included frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and content analysis.
The results of the research were as follows: (1) synthesis of soft skills needed in the 21st century workplace included 8 attribute namely 1) communication skills 2) leadership 3) teamwork 4) problem solving 5) work ethics 6) time management 7) interpersonal skills and 8) creative thinking (2) survey of soft skills needed for modern graduates in perspective of the workplace was high and highest level, the top 5 soft skills as follows: 1) work ethics (=4.45, S.D.=0.61) 2) interpersonal skills (=4.41, S.D.=0.65) 3) time management (=4.37, S.D.=0.67) 4) problem solving (=4.25, S.D.=0.67) and 5) leadership (=4.24, S.D.=0.68) respectively.
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References
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19. Klaus, P. (2010). Communication breakdown. California Job Journal. 28: 1-9.
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21. International Labour Organization. (2008). Skills for improved productivity, employment growth and development. Paper presented at the International Labour Conference.
22. Lippman, L. H., Ryberg, R., Carney, R. & Moore, K. A. (2015). Key “Soft” Skills That Foster Youth Workforce Success: Toward a Consensus Across Fields. Washington, D.C: USAID.
23. Lowden, K., Hall, S., Elliot, D. & Lewin, J. (2011). Employers’ perceptions of the employability skills of new graduates. Project Report. Edge Foundation, London, UK.
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25. Mitchell, G. W., Skinner, L. B. & White, B. J. (2010). Essential soft skills for success in the twenty-first century workforce as perceived by business educators. Delta Pi Epsilon Journal. 52: 43-53.
26. Mowrer, O. H. (1950). Learning theory and personality dynamics: Selected papers. New York, NY: Ronald Press
27. Nga, J. K. & Wai Mun, S. (2013). The perception of undergraduate students towards accountants and the role of accountants in driving organizational change: A case study of a Malaysian business school. Education & Training. 55(6): 500-519.
28. Nealy, C. (2005). Integrating soft skills through active learning in the management classroom. Journal of College Teaching & Learning. 2(4): 1-6.
29. Parsons, T. L. Definition: Soft skills. [Online]. available : http://searchcio.techtarget.com/ definition/soft-skills. 2008.
30. Patacsil, F. F. & Tablatin, C. L. S. (2017). Exploring the importance of soft and hard skills as perceived by IT internship students and industry: a gap analysis. Journal of Technology and Science Education. 7(3): 347-368.
31. Perreault, H. (2004). Business educators can take a leadership role in character education. Business Education Forum. 59: 23-24.
32. Robles, M. (2012). Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s workplace. Business Communications Quarterly. 75(4): 453-465.
33. Seetha, N. (2014). Are soft skills important in the workplace? – A preliminary investigation in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Science. 4(4): 44-56.
34. Sejzi, A. A., Aris, B. & Yuh, C. P. (2013). Important Soft Skills for University Students in 21st Century. 4th International Graduate Conference on Engineering, Science, and Humanities (IGCESH 2013), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor, Malaysia, 16-17 April 2013, PP 1088-1093.
35. Singh, G., & Singh, S. (2008). Malaysian graduates’ employability skills. UNITAR e-Journal. 4(1): 15-45.
36. Skill Builder Pro. Soft Skills: The Hard Skills for Today’s Workforce. [Online]. available : https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/792186/Soft_Skills__The_Hard_Skills_for_Today_s_Wor kforce_Final.pdf?p=original. 2018.
37. Smith, L. (2007). Teaching the intangibles. T+D. 61(10): 23-25.
38. Snyder, K. The 7 Soft Skills You Need to Be Successful. [Online]. available : https://www.omniagroup.com/the-7-soft-skills-you-need-to-be-successful/. 2020.
39. Spowart, J. (2011). Hospitality students' competencies: Are they work ready?. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism. 10(2): 169-181.
40. Vasanthakumari, S. (2019). Soft Skills and its application in work place. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews. 3(2): 66–72.
41. Wiki job. Soft Skills. [Online]. available : https://www.wikijob.co.uk/content/interview-advice/competencies/soft-skills. 2020.
42. WVDE. Survey of Employer Skill Needs. [Online]. available : https://wvde.us/simulated-workplace/. 2019.
43. Zagada, M. Top 7 Soft Skills Employees Need In 2020 and Beyond. [Online]. available :https://www.gofluent.com/blog/top-7-soft-skills-2020/. 2019.
2. วราวุธ ศิลปอาชา. รมว.ทส.ชี้ คนรุ่นใหม่ขาดวินัย เดินหน้าสร้าง ทสม.จิตอาสา. [Online]. เข้าถึงได้จาก : https://www.newtv.co.th/news/40427. 2562.
3. Abullah, A. R., Muhammad, M. Z. & Md Naris, N. A. (2019). The Role of Soft Skills within Business Students towards Graduate Employability. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business. 7(2): 1- 14.
4. Alsafadi, L., & Abunafesa, R. (2012). ICT Skills Gap Analysis of the Saudi Market. Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science Vol I, WCECS 2012, San Francisco, USA.
5. Anju A. (2009). A Holistic Approach to Soft Skills Training. IUP Journal of Soft Skills. 3(1): 7-11.
6. Balcar, J. (2014). Soft skills and their wage returns: Overview of empirical literature. Review of Economic Perspectives. 14(1): 3-15.
7. Bee, O. K. & Hie, T. S. (2015). Employers’ Emphasis on Technical Skills and Soft Skills in Job Advertisements. The English Teacher. XLIV(1): 1-12.
8. Bersin, J. LinkedIn 2019 Talent Trends: Soft Skills, Transparency and Trust. [Online]. available : https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-2019-talent-trends-soft-skills-transparency-trust-bersin. 2019.
9. Benjamin, B., Gulliya, T. & Crispo, A. (2012). Emotional intelligence and organizational culture. Insights to a Changing World Journal. 1: 52-64.
10. Carnevale, A. P. (2013). 21st century competencies for college and career readiness. Broken Arrow, OK: National Career Development Association. Cobo, C. (2013). Mechanisms to identify and study the demand for innovation skills in world-renowned organizations. On the Horizon. 21(2): 96-106.
11. Credé, M., & Kuncel, N. R. (2008). Study habits, skills, and attitudes: The third pillar supporting collegiate academic performance. Perspectives on psychological science. 3(6): 425-453.
12. Dana, H., Hancock, C., & Phillips, J. (2011). A research proposal to evaluate the merits of writing across the curriculum. American Journal of Business Education. 4: 15-20.
13. Dean, S. A. (2017). Soft Skills Needed for the 21st Century Workforce. Doctor of Business Administration, Walden University.
14. Doyle, A. Top Soft Skills Employers Value with Examples. [Online]. available : https://www.thebalancecareers.com/list-of-soft-skills-2063770. 2019.
15. Gewertz, C. (2007). Soft skills in big demand: Interest in teaching students habits of mind for success in life is on the rise. Education Week. 26(40): 25-27.
16. Glenn, J. L. (2008). The “new” customer service model: Customer advocate, company ambassador. Business Education Forum. 62(4): 7-13.
17. Jungsun, K., Mehmet, E., JeoungWoo, B. & Hwayoung, J. (2011). Training soft skills via e-learning. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 23(6): 739-763.
18. Kautz, T. D., Heckman, J., Diris, R., ter Weel, B., & Borghans, L. (2014). Fostering and measuring skills: Improving cognitive and non-cognitive skills to promote lifetime success. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
19. Klaus, P. (2010). Communication breakdown. California Job Journal. 28: 1-9.
20. Kyllonen, P. (2013). Soft skills for the workplace. Change. 45(6): 16-23.
21. International Labour Organization. (2008). Skills for improved productivity, employment growth and development. Paper presented at the International Labour Conference.
22. Lippman, L. H., Ryberg, R., Carney, R. & Moore, K. A. (2015). Key “Soft” Skills That Foster Youth Workforce Success: Toward a Consensus Across Fields. Washington, D.C: USAID.
23. Lowden, K., Hall, S., Elliot, D. & Lewin, J. (2011). Employers’ perceptions of the employability skills of new graduates. Project Report. Edge Foundation, London, UK.
24. Manpower Group. (2013). 2013 Talent Shortage Survey Research Results. Milwaukee, WI: Manpower Group.
25. Mitchell, G. W., Skinner, L. B. & White, B. J. (2010). Essential soft skills for success in the twenty-first century workforce as perceived by business educators. Delta Pi Epsilon Journal. 52: 43-53.
26. Mowrer, O. H. (1950). Learning theory and personality dynamics: Selected papers. New York, NY: Ronald Press
27. Nga, J. K. & Wai Mun, S. (2013). The perception of undergraduate students towards accountants and the role of accountants in driving organizational change: A case study of a Malaysian business school. Education & Training. 55(6): 500-519.
28. Nealy, C. (2005). Integrating soft skills through active learning in the management classroom. Journal of College Teaching & Learning. 2(4): 1-6.
29. Parsons, T. L. Definition: Soft skills. [Online]. available : http://searchcio.techtarget.com/ definition/soft-skills. 2008.
30. Patacsil, F. F. & Tablatin, C. L. S. (2017). Exploring the importance of soft and hard skills as perceived by IT internship students and industry: a gap analysis. Journal of Technology and Science Education. 7(3): 347-368.
31. Perreault, H. (2004). Business educators can take a leadership role in character education. Business Education Forum. 59: 23-24.
32. Robles, M. (2012). Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s workplace. Business Communications Quarterly. 75(4): 453-465.
33. Seetha, N. (2014). Are soft skills important in the workplace? – A preliminary investigation in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Science. 4(4): 44-56.
34. Sejzi, A. A., Aris, B. & Yuh, C. P. (2013). Important Soft Skills for University Students in 21st Century. 4th International Graduate Conference on Engineering, Science, and Humanities (IGCESH 2013), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor, Malaysia, 16-17 April 2013, PP 1088-1093.
35. Singh, G., & Singh, S. (2008). Malaysian graduates’ employability skills. UNITAR e-Journal. 4(1): 15-45.
36. Skill Builder Pro. Soft Skills: The Hard Skills for Today’s Workforce. [Online]. available : https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/792186/Soft_Skills__The_Hard_Skills_for_Today_s_Wor kforce_Final.pdf?p=original. 2018.
37. Smith, L. (2007). Teaching the intangibles. T+D. 61(10): 23-25.
38. Snyder, K. The 7 Soft Skills You Need to Be Successful. [Online]. available : https://www.omniagroup.com/the-7-soft-skills-you-need-to-be-successful/. 2020.
39. Spowart, J. (2011). Hospitality students' competencies: Are they work ready?. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism. 10(2): 169-181.
40. Vasanthakumari, S. (2019). Soft Skills and its application in work place. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews. 3(2): 66–72.
41. Wiki job. Soft Skills. [Online]. available : https://www.wikijob.co.uk/content/interview-advice/competencies/soft-skills. 2020.
42. WVDE. Survey of Employer Skill Needs. [Online]. available : https://wvde.us/simulated-workplace/. 2019.
43. Zagada, M. Top 7 Soft Skills Employees Need In 2020 and Beyond. [Online]. available :https://www.gofluent.com/blog/top-7-soft-skills-2020/. 2019.
