The Power of Employability Skills and Hard Skills

What are Employability Skills?

Employability skills, also known as soft skills or transferable skills, are the essential attributes, personal qualities, and values that help you succeed in any workplace. Employers highly appreciate these skills as they are crucial for doing your job well.

Key Employability Skills

Key employability skills include, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, taking initiative. Having a range of these skills can help you thrive in the workplace and as they contribute to a positive work environment and overall organisational success. These skills can also improve your employability and can help you move up in your career.  

Personal Attributes

In addition to employability skills, personal attributes such as loyalty, reliability, common sense, motivation, ability to deal with pressure, commitment, enthusiasm, positive self-esteem, adaptability, honesty, integrity, and a sense of humour are valued by employers. These attributes contribute to building strong work ethics, promoting positive relationships and a healthy work-life balance.

What are hard skills?

Hard Skills are specific abilities or knowledge that you learn through training programs or formal education and experience. They are technical skills you need to complete a job.

Did you know that employability skills are transferable?

One of the key advantages of employability skills is their transferability across various jobs and industries. Whether acquired through work placements, volunteer experiences, or previous employment, these skills are applicable and valuable in diverse workplace settings. Employers recognise the importance of transferable skills and often look for candidates who possess a combination of both hard skills and employability skills.

Why are these skills important?

While hard skills are necessary for performing specific job tasks, employability skills are essential for overall success and effectiveness in the workplace.

The most required occupations in 2024?

According to the Victorian Skills Authority, the top five most required occupations where you will see employment growth between 2023 and 2026 in Victoria are: aged and disabled carers, general clerks, software and applications programmers, registered nurses and university lecturers and tutors.

An interesting fact is that, more than one-third jobs in 2026 will require skills aligned to VET qualifications.

As Victoria’s job market continues to evolve, to position yourself for success, stay informed about employment growth trends and the opportunities available in growing occupations.

Conclusion

Remember, it's not just about what you know, but also how you use that knowledge and interact with others that will really make a difference in the workplace.

For further information on finding work or to book a free consult with our Skills and Jobs Centre, book an appointment here or sign up for our upcoming workshops by booking here.

Check our Melbourne Polytechnic courses here.