Industry News

"Everybody" lacks communications skills

Graduates may lack the softer skills necessary to succeed in the contemporary workplace, according to one expert.

Martin Sloman, learning and development advisor with the Charted Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), has commented that such shortfalls are not limited to recent graduates but are evident across all age groups.

The workplace has changed recently as "routine processing work" disappears and is replaced by more initiative-based activities, Mr Sloman maintained.

And while new graduates may lack leadership and communication skills, this is not a problem limited to people in their 20s, as "everybody does", he added.

Mr Sloman was speaking after this year's Grad Stats study found that 68 per cent of recent graduates thought their university degree was worth the financial investment, despite 70 per cent of respondents claiming to be worried about debt and the rising cost of living.

The CIPD representative pointed out that recent research by Felstead and Green highlighted IT skills and influencing skills as two areas of employee development that were growing in importance.


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