Soft Skills are Today's 'Power Skills'

June 16 2022 - A new report from Experis, part of the Manpower Group finds that critical soft skills, or 'power skills' are being neglected in the IT hiring process. Based on a survey of 40,000 employers in 40 countries the report, New Age of Tech Talent'finds that talk about the crucial nature of upskilling and reskilling aside, latent potential rin the middle of the tech talent pyramid is not being tapped. Employers should be more creative and agile in their hiring strategy inside and outside their organizations. Specifically, they should be guided by workforce data, have a clear 'talent philosophy' and be willing to experiment.

Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup said:

"The IT sector is growing quickly, While there is an acute demand for highly technical candidates, great potential lies within 'adaptable generalists' candidates that is frequently untapped. This can be detrimental as the soft skills these individuals possess are often the most challenging to find. Companies can look within to fully explore workforce potential and reskill employees to fill gaps and meet their talent needs."

The posts hiring managers found most difficult to fill were:

• IT project managers (22%)
• Cybersecurity analysts, software developers, and AI/machine learning specialists (all 20%)

Hiring managers were asked why they had difficulty filling tech roles:

• 34% said candidates did not have the right technical skills
• 32% said they didn't have the right relevant experience
• 27% said applicants didn't have the right soft skills

What were the top soft skills reported to be in demand for tech roles? The report highlighted:

• Critical Thinking & Analysis
• Creativity & Originality
• Reasoning & Problem-Solving
• Reliability & Self Discipline
• Resilience & Adaptability

According to Ger Doyle, Head of Experis, Digital & Business Innovation:

"Regardless of sector, the conversation about the technology skills gap often focuses on the most senior and junior roles and ignores existing talent who have strong technical skills and an intuitive sense of the business but may lack exposure to emerging technologies and a roadmap for their future career "

The report also indicates that most organizations are trawling the same limited talent pool to recruit IT workers, They are missing a 'golden opportunity' to look further as people lacking traditional qualifications and diverse social groups are overlooked.

The report underscores four ways organizations can bring new thinking to life:

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