Skills, Development and Training.

They say that the smartest people among us are those who adopt a positive
attitude toward life-long learning.

In other words, the smartest people are those who realize they will always have a
lot to learn, and who spend their entire lives accumulating knowledge to improve
their skills development process.

Learning is, then, a life-long process; there is never a point at which you can stop
and say that you have learnt everything, or know enough (if you want to be one of
the smartest people in the room, or a sought-after professional, that is).

Whether you are a manager at your company, in the human resource management
department or just an employee, we all need some skills to improve our career and
personal life.

 
 To be more, we need to become more.

 Each industry, and each company within that industry, will have a diff erent
approach to skills development. For a growing career as an employee or a
progressive businessmen we need Skills and more appropria tely Transferable
Skills.

SKILL.

Here we need to know what is a ‘Skill’. Marriem Webster Dictionary defi nes
Skill as

 The ability to use one's knowledge effectively and readily in

execution or performance
 Dexterity or coordination especially in the execution of
learned physical tasks
 A learned power of doing something competently : a
developed aptitude or ability such as language skills

A skilled person will consume less resource and produce more quality and quantity
where as an unskilled person will produce lesser quality and quantity while using
same amount of resources that a skilled person have. It is very much possible that
an unskilled person may produce nothing after consuming resources which are
scarce.

Some companies will have in-house training opportunities and grants for further
learning for exceptional employees. Others will have minimum standards – i.e. a
set of basic skills the company requires new hires to possess before they will put in
the time and money required to develop those skills further.

Some businesses will require employees to undergo a series of tests and short

courses throughout their tenure to ensure that their employees continue to
develop the necessary skills to remain at the forefront of knowledge and the
cutting edge of their fi eld.

Whatever a company’s approach to skills development, you can bet your bottom
dollar that skills development is a billion dollar industry vital to a company’s long-
term growth and ultimate success.
There are six categories of Transferable Skills which are instrumental for those
who are either doing their own business or doing job. It is important that we select
most relevant skills and get ourselves trained for those skills.

Basic Skills
 Use listening skills to understand oral instructions
 Learn new procedures
 Understand and carry out written instructions
 Orally convey information to others
 Observe and assess your own and others' performances
 Communicate in writing
 Use mathematical processes to solve problems
 Speak in public
 Demonstrate professionalism

People Skills
 Provide constructive criticism
 Receive feedback
 Coordinate actions with other people's actions
 Negotiate, persuade, and influence people
 Motivate others
 Handle complaints
 Train or teach new skills
 Delegate work
 Oversee others' work
 Perform outreach
 Counsel people
 Build strong customer relationships
 Collaborate with others
 Mentor less experienced colleagues
 Resolve conflicts
 Develop relationships with suppliers
  Demonstrate comfort when dealing with all people
 Gain clients' or customers' confidence

Management Skills
 Oversee budgets
 Recruit personnel
 Review resumes
 Interview job candidates
 Select new hires
 Supervise employees
 Allocate resources such as equipment, materials, and facilities
 Schedule personnel
 Preside over meetings
 Negotiate contracts
 Evaluate employees
 Organize committees

Clerical Skills
 Perform general clerical and administrative support tasks
 Design forms, correspondence, and reports
 Manage records
 Take minutes at meetings
 Use word processing software
 Use database management software
 Use spreadsheet software
 Use desktop publishing software
 Use presentation software
 Perform data entry
 Keep track of accounts receivable, accounts payable, billing, and other
bookkeeping tasks
 Screen telephone calls
 Greet visitors

Research and Planning Skills

 Identify and present problems to upper management
 Anticipate and prevent problems from occurring or reoccurring
  Use critical thinking skills to make decisions or evaluate possible solutions
to problems 
 Solve problems
 Deal with unexpected situations
 Define the organization's or department's needs
 Set goals
 Prioritize tasks
 Locate and reach out to suppliers or sub-contractors
 Analyze information and forecast results
 Manage your time and meet deadlines
 Plan and implement events and activities
 Create and implement new policies and procedures
 Develop a budget
 Coordinate and develop programs
 Document procedures and results
 Produce reports
 Conduct research using the Internet and library resources
 Generate ideas
 Implement new strategies

Computer and Technical Skills:

 Use computer software that is related to job
 Use job-related equipment and machinery
 Install software on computers
 Use the Internet, including email and search engines
 Use office equipment such as printers, copiers, and fax machines
 Troubleshoot problems with hardware and software
 Install equipment
 Troubleshoot problems with and repair equipment
 Maintain equipment
 Inspect equipment to identify problems

Additional Skills:
 Demonstrate fluency or working knowledge of a foreign language
 Demonstrate fluency or working knowledge of sign language
 Fundraise
 Write grants
 Design websites