SKILLS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

SKILLS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

2024-04-30

Think Tank

We all want our children to be successful!! But success certainly has a different meaning to everyone.
To some it may mean money, to some it means happiness and to some it means status. But one thing is certain to be successful in the 21st century, we would be looking beyond technical skills. The 21st century students will have to have certain skills which are beyond the realm of technical expertise.
If we look back into our school days, we all had a set of students in our class who were hardly interested in academics but were extremely street smart. Today at a reunion party, we realize that these are the students who probably are the most successful ones in the whole batch!!Being a career counsellor and having counselled many students over a period of one decade I would certainly like to assert I have actually seen the not so brilliant but smart students make their way to the top.
Why is that… you may ask. Simply because the world has always looked up at upskilled students more than the technically knowledgeable ones alone.And today’s world only demands that even more.
To list few skills in demand for the generation “Zee”
  1. Adaptability – The skill to cope up with a situation no matter how difficult or different it may be.
  2. Verbal communication skills – The way we express is the way we are understood which becomes a challenge if we lack the ability to speak well.
  3. Written communication skills– A written document usually is the first level of interpreting a person’s ability. Be it a proposal for a startup or a resume in a well-established firm, it happens to be the showcase of a candidate’s caliber.
  4. Collaboration – Usually known to assess a person’s capability to work in a team, it is an imperative skill for the job market as is the culture of collaboration.
  5. Critical analysis – Every situation demands to be analyzed and here the skills to critically think and resolve issues come into the picture.
  6. Problem solving – After the analysis, a step to understand the problem and come out with practical solutions makes things work and take shape in today’s world.
  7. Decision making – Not just decision making, but quick and smart decision making, a art that helps people choose the right solutions to difficult problems.
  8. Interpersonal skills – the skills to deal with people and maintain cordial relations for good networking in the long run.
  9. Intrapersonal skills – The ability to recognize your own emotions and further manage them in a way they do not become a hindrance in your success.
  10. Technology skills – The last two years have clearly brought out the fact that we cannot turn our back on technology. In fact, if not for the latest technology, mankind would not have been able to survive the social isolation that covid brought in.
Core technical knowledge is important, but so is the skill that makes a person capable enough to present his core technical expertise to the world in a way that he is valued and looked up upon!!

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