Do educational institutions give stress on soft skills?
During my school, college, or university days, I never heard this term. After a long long time, while studying MBA, I came to know about this term. One of our professors used to give tremendous importance to soft skills. He used to tell us that to survive the cut-throat competition in the corporate sector and also in senior positions in Government offices, soft skills are more important than hard skills.Soft skills include any skill which can be classified as a personality trait or habit. Inter-personal skills and communication skills are more specific categories of these, which many employers look for in job candidates.
Broad types of soft skills include:
(a) Communication
(b) Problem-solving
(c) Creativity
(de) Adaptability, and
(e) Work ethic
Over the years, I have understood the importance of soft skills. However, I am astonished to find that in India's educational institutions, the least importance is given to acquiring soft skills. Hard skills are of paramount importance. But, as I have already stated, after a certain level, soft skills become more important than hard skills.
Why don't educational institutions put stress on soft skills? What are the ways to enable students to acquire soft skills at an early age?