The Indiana Chamber of Commerce has teamed up with national partners America Succeeds and Lightcast to promote the “High Demand for Durable Skills” report, which emphasizes the importance of durable skills and which of these skills are most in demand by Hoosier employers.
Durable skills — or what used to be called soft or life skills — are those that learners can take with them to whatever careers they choose and wherever they go professionally. These skills include leadership, critical thinking and the ability to collaborate on a team while effectively communicating with others.
The new report examined 1.6 million Hoosier job postings in the past two years and found that 1.2 million, or 75%, of those demanded at least one durable skill. More than half (55%) of the job listings — 928,000 of them — requested two or more durable skills.
“Technical skills are ever changing with economic and technological trends, but durable skills never change,” said Kevin Brinegar, Indiana Chamber president and CEO. “Once durable skills are learned, they can be applied in a variety of situations and careers. This study emphasizes the importance of integrating these durable skills into education so students can be prepared for a successful work life.”
In producing this study, Moscow, Idaho-based Lightcast analyzed the 1.6 million recent job postings to see how often the following competencies were listed: character, collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, fortitude, growth mindset, leadership, metacognition (awareness of one’s learning and thought process) and mindfulness.
After studying more than 29,000 companies across Indiana, the “High Demand for Durable Skills” report found that communication, metacognition and leadership are the top three durable skills Hoosier employers are looking for. Critical thinking, collaboration and character take the next three spots.
“This study is quite compelling because it focuses on the benefits of cultivating these skills and traits from a very early age. Whether that’s fostering creativity or your thought process, learning the importance of good character or working well with others,” Brinegar offers. “These findings are something educators, policymakers and business leaders should pay attention to and ask themselves: ‘Are we really preparing students for the future?’”
A common misconception among job seekers is that hard skills -— such as writing, math, operating a machine and other learned skillsets — are what stand out the most to employers.
But the “High Demand for Durable Skills” report shows that in Indiana the top five durable skills are wanted by employers three and a half times more than the top five hard skills.
“The need for inclusive, soft skills-based education and hiring was apparent long before the pandemic but COVID-19 has greatly accelerated existing trends,” said Tim Taylor, co-founder and president of America Succeeds. “We launched this unique research initiative to start a national conversation around durable skills, so that schools understand the importance of educating for them and corporate leaders recognize the urgent need to partner with the education system to solve their workforce challenges.”
Adds Anna Brown, economist and vice president of education consulting at Lightcast, “Six of the 10 most requested skills by Indiana employers were durable skills. It is our belief that by working together with educators and business leaders, we ensure that students and communities can become more resilient in the rapidly evolving world of work.”
The Indiana Chamber will use the report to further its goal of creating the workforce Hoosier employers need and for setting students up for success in school, work and life. The “High Demand for Durable Skills” report is available at www.indianahamber.com/durableskills.
