Skill development is a process of identifying your skill gap and ensuring you develop these skills. Your skills determine your ability to execute plans and achieve your goals. Skill development and training is an integral part of an employee’s life. Organizations that encourage skill development have a stronger workforce, employees are motivated and engaged, and have higher productivity.
There are 2 groups of skills –
Hard Skills
Skills related to tasks which can be quantified are known as hard skills. These tend to be knowledge based like expertise in a subject, certifications, and technical skills.
Soft Skills
Skills related to personality are known as soft skills. These include interpersonal skills like communication skills, flexibility, patience, negotiation skills, relationship building, problem solving, decision making etc.
HOW TO START DEVELOPING SKILLS?
Start with the core skills
Core skills are the ones that you absolutely need to succeed in your goal and have a direct impact on your success. Secondary skills are those that will accentuate your skills but will act as supporting skills to your core skills.
Break it into small steps
You cannot learn anything all at once. It is best if you break it into smaller parts. This makes it easy to learn and retain. Break the bigger skill into smaller parts for better understanding. For example, divide communication skills into smaller segments – active listening, body language, non-verbal communication, questioning skills, feedback etc.
Learn from the best
One of the most important steps in skills development and training is to learn from the best in the industry. Bank upon the person’s experience and expertise and you’ll know you’re in the right hands.
