This skill may be the most in-demand for the changing job market in India, according to LinkedIn

• According to a LinkedIn report, soft skills have become the most important, especially as automation and artificial intelligence begin to pick up pace, disrupting many jobs.
  
• The report noted that the four leading hiring trends across industries include soft skills, work flexibility, anti-harassment and pay transparency.
  
• While according to another survey by Mercer Mettl, which assessed decision making professionals, highlighted that despite increased pay, organisations still struggle with hiring ‘quality talent’ who have in-demand skills.
  

With artificial intelligence and automation making inroads in the Indian job market, the latest report by LinkedIn on ‘Global Talent Trends 2019’ has shown that soft skills top the charts as the most in-demand skill across industries.

Within soft skills, creativity has been the most in demand, since this is what machines can’t replicate. Others include persuasion, collaboration, adaptability and time management.

The report notes that soft skills are those that teach people how to apply hard skills, which are more about knowing or doing specific technical tasks like tax accounting or graphic design.

The report, which surveyed over 5,000 talent professionals across 35 countries — including over 400 professionals in India — has revealed that soft skills, work flexibility, anti-harassment and pay transparency are the leading trends that impact the recruitment process, in turn affecting the job seekers.

“While hard skills may get a candidate’s foot in the door, it’s soft skills that ultimately open it,” said Lydia Liu, Head of HR at Home Credit China.

India being a developing market, is still evolving with technology and has put soft skills over others with 95% Indian respondents saying that soft skills are the most important, followed by anti-harassment (87%). While European and American companies find that work flexibility is the key to the future of recruitment.

The report pointed out that over time hard skills such as knowing a particular programming language may go out of fashion, while creativity, adaptability, and collaboration skills will remain valuable. A recent McKinsey study predicted that “as automation transforms the skills companies need, demand for creativity will rise sharply by 2030.”

Poor soft skills can ‘make or break’ a hiring decision, with 89% of survey respondents saying hat “bad hires” typically have poor soft skills.

Organisations, for their part, also need to improve how they assess soft skills. In India, while 87% respondents said they believe that candidates with strong soft skills will be increasingly important, only 53% say their companies have a formal process for assessing soft skills.

The findings of the LinkedIn survey are similar to another survey by Mercer Mettl, which assessed decision making professionals, who highlighted that despite increased pay being offered to competent employees, organisations still struggle with hiring ‘quality talent’ who have in-demand skills.

See also:
India has a booming artificial intelligence sector—and it’s struggling to fill over 4,000 jobs

Microsoft will train 10,000 Indian engineers in artificial intelligence