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Do we need transferable skills?

Posted on September 23rd, 2021



All jobs ask for some skills combination. They can be hard skills such as the capability to speak another language fluently or, they can also be the second such as the soft skills, say, being a good team player. Both are important in their own way.

Besides these two, again, there come the transferable skills, which are just as important as the mentioned above two. Now we shall see what these transferable skills are and why they are vital to us in these modern-day employment times.

What Are Transferable Skills?

Said simply, they are those that are important to multiple jobs and niches. For instance, proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite is honoured in all industries and roles. These skills cut across both the soft and hard skills and make people extremely demanded.

The best part, these skills are helpful in personal and professional life alike.

Why Are These Skills So Much Important?

A few employers ask for specific skills that are relevant to their roles or organizations. However, the majority ask for multiple skills, and this is where having transferable skills is an advantage. When one acquires transferable skills, one becomes handier; he and she can do many roles and do different works. All these give a person with transferable skills more advantage than the one who doesn’t have these.

Transferable skills have become especially vital when applying for vacancies in a different industry or a different kind of organization. Say your career had been in the finance field in a small firm, but you apply for a position in an IT company at a charity. You may be lacking a few of the decidedly specific experiences and skills of a person having a background of working for charity houses in IT teams but, your transferable skills can still make you an ideal one for the position.

Everyone acquires some kind of transferable skills over time, but when you identify them and polish them, your chances of shining in personal and professional lives become easy.

Below are the 3 major tips for developing transferable skills. Follow these, and you will garnish your transferable skills.

  1. Focus on listening skills:
  2. Communication is the most significant transferable skill, and it has a strong presence across other skills such as persuasion, collaboration, and emotional intelligence. One cannot be a strong communicator unless one is a strong listener. If you are a good listener, you will understand the other person’s point of view and best communicate your message.

    So, make an effort to listen more actively. Give your complete attention to what others say. Understand them and finally talk about your opinion. Giving the speaker the total attention, you hear and understand exactly what they are telling you.

  3. Take part in public speaking:
  4. If you are not good at speaking no matter how good you are at your job you may face tough situations at times. Convincing people come only with good public speaking capabilities. If you are bad at this art, practice it. Spend money to get this skill if needed. There is no need to step back on spending on this most vital skill.

  5. Be part of collaborative projects:
  6. Collaboration is the next big demanded transferable skill. Collaboration is the most wanted skill in this remote working era and cross-departmental organization days. The ability to work with anyone and anywhere will make you the most needed person in your organization.

So, now you know why transferable skills are important same as soft skills and hard skills are. Don’t neglect them and start focusing on these.

Tags: skillset, employee skillset, transferable skills, personality development