Soft Skills for Graduating College Students

Session Description

Graduating college students underestimate the importance of Soft Skills in the workplace. LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report stated that “92% of talent development professionals and executives agreed that soft skills are just as or more important than technical skills.” And Payscale's Skills Gap Report stated that “60% of managers believe new graduates lack critical thinking and problem-solving skills, reinforcing the need for a focus on soft skills in higher education.” Soft Skills include Communication Skills, Teamwork and Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Adaptability and Flexibility, Time Management, Emotional Intelligence, and Leadership Skills. Unfortunately, most college students are so focused on developing their hard skills to complete their academic work and graduate college, that they don’t consider the importance of developing their Soft Skills.

Presenter(s)

David Neely
Learning Design & Technology
Honolulu, HI, USA

David Neely is the Technology and Web Coordinator at the Manoa Career Center at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. David started out his journey as a student employee and learned how important Soft Skills are to join a team and produce meaningful outcomes. David enjoys exploring the line between hard skills like computer programming and networking and the Soft Skills of emotional intelligence and critical thinking. In his spare time David writes educational video games and plays the drums in a rock band.