Labor market regulators and public employment services (PES) can help people become more employable by promoting soft-skills. Here are six ways they can do this:
- Incorporate soft-skills training into education and workforce development programs. PES can team up with educational institutions and training providers to ensure students and job seekers know how to communicate, work with others, and solve problems.
- Encourage employers to put a value on and prioritize soft-skills when hiring and promoting. PES can explain to employers how important soft-skills are and remind them to look at them along with technical skills when recruiting and promoting.
- Develop and promote industry-specific soft-skills standards. PES can work with industry associations and employers to create and advertise soft-skills standards specific to different industries. This can help job seekers and employees understand the soft-skills in demand in their chosen field. Or vice versa, they can help people choose a specific field, taking the required hard-skills into account, based on their soft-skills.
- Give incentives to employers who train their employees in soft-skills. PES can incentivize employers who invest in training their employees in soft-skills. This encourages them to help employees develop their soft-skills and become more employable.
- Create and advertise certifications for soft-skills. PES can create and advertise certification programs for soft-skills. This can help job seekers show their abilities and help employers find people with matching soft-skills.
- Use a two-sided model to assess people and jobs for soft-skills. PES can evaluate people and the jobs they’re offering regarding the soft-skills required. Preferably, a scientifically sound model.