By Chimezie Nebolisa
In today's world economy, the havoc being wrecked by the emergence of the Coronavirus pandemic is no longer news. Apart from what now seems to be an orthodox discourse on the health implications of the virus, the economic mayhem associated with pandemic has garnered more public opinion. Over the past few months since the Coronavirus pandemic emergence, the global oil value and price tend to fluctuate, stocks have devalued and various businesses struggle to stay afloat.
Just last week, the management of one of the top players of the Nigerian banking sector, Access bank, through her MD/CEO, Herbert Wigwe, noted that about seventy-five percent of her workforce would be retrenched and laid off, while over three hundred of her branches would be shut down till further notice, this notwithstanding after the banking firm had declared earlier that her staff would take pay cuts in their salaries and wages. He also stated that those to be affected by this essential down-cut in the size of the workforce are mostly outsourced staff and workers offering nonessential services. It is pertinent to note that this is just the tip of the iceberg, as many financial institutions would likely follow suit as the economic future of both the public and private sectors tends to be cloudy and gloomy. Businesses are struggling and many would take drastic measures to survive this stormy weather and to be able to play a major role in the financial markets. In 2019, the unemployment rate of the Nigerian citizens according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics stood at 6.11% of her population, but with the effects of the Coronavirus, the number would soar higher, as more people would be relieved of their jobs, directly or indirectly.
The emergency of the Coronavirus pandemic has exposed so many loopholes, especially as to the regard to many employees in both public and private sectors. It is a bitter truth that the past few weeks of the lockdown have laid bare to employers, the level of effectiveness and efficiency of various staff engaged within their institutions. While most staff were docile and relaxed at home during the lockdown, there were staff who did not go on the short break but were on their way to their offices like every other day or had worked from home. To employees, the lockdown has served as a modality to check and admit one's shortfalls, showing that for an employee to remain relevant in the labour market, there is a need to adapt to the ever-changing realities of the market forces. For failure to adapt to changes and innovations could be catastrophic and fatal to business. During the early stages of the digital era, most businesses and industries, who clinged to the analog mode of operation, thereby refusing innovations, were either liquidated or its assets acquired by another in the long run. Even in the media sector, to stay afloat and remain relevant in the business, most orthodox print media have evolved in their modus operandi, by going digital, the banking sector is also not left out as all now encourage her customers to embrace the electronic platform in carrying out their day-to-day transactions.
For the records, we know that not everyone would be an employer of labour. But as an employee, it would be applauded when one offers more other than certificates on the table of employment. In today's labour market, hard skills are still fundamental, as they include both technical and administrative capabilities. It also lays emphasis on educational qualifications, work experience and most times success at work is related to the technical ability to complete tasks. Over time, the trend of depending solely on hard skills paradigm has continued to shift towards soft skills. One's possession of hard skills seems not to be enough.
Soft skills are a cluster of productive personality traits that characterize one's relationships in a milieu. These skills include social graces, communication abilities, language skills, personal habits, cognitive or emotional empathy, time management, teamwork and leadership traits. Employers do not workers who are rigid towards learning new skills or possess phobia for change.
To this effect, as a potential employee or worker in the labour market, it is important for one to adapt to changes which is inherent in any social relation. In the various institutions, the ability to apply one's soft skills with much dexterity helps one to stand out in any organisation. In the 21st century labour market, soft skill is sine qua non for employability and success in life. To remain competitive, workers will need to acquire new skills continually, which requires flexibility, a positive attitude towards lifelong learning and curiosity.
On the flip side, this lockdown has given most of us ample time to face our realities. As the chickens have come home to roost, most workers would leap over what they sowed. Failure to engage in the skills that would improve their efficiency, most would be relieved of their jobs and no entrepreneur would be willing to engage a liability. We also know the implications of losing one's source of income, as regards both economic and social relations; how fatal it could be.
As humans, we fall to rise again. It is time we engage ourselves in things that improve our efficiency in the labour market. This time, work experience and certificates do not matter as such but a set of soft skills. These are what stand you out from the rest. It is also pertinent to note that acquiring soft skills has no correlation with time or age, while for some life ends at forty, others, life has just begun. Making mistakes does not take us to the grave rather it's our failure to learn and correct our mistakes that do. To survive this warfare, we need to learn, unlearn, and relearn. For in today's labour market, the paradigm of soft skills is key to unlock doors of opportunities.
This article was first published on the defunct Nationallightngr.com
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