McDonald's-led coalition pushes for more recognition to 'soft skills'
New research reveals soft skills – such as communication, teamwork and time management – can boost lifetime earnings by up to 15%.
A new report commissioned and led by McDonald’s UK has today called for a robust framework to better recognise and promote soft skills - such as communication and interpersonal skills, teamwork, and time- and self-management.
The McDonald’s led coalition includes cross-industry partners like James Caan CBE and a number of businesses, charities and organisations including AON, Mencap and the National Youth Agency.
Richard Forte, Chief Operating Officer, McDonald’s UK & Northern Europe, said, “At McDonald’s, we think of soft skills as vital skills because communication, teamwork and decision-making, aren’t just important to our business, they’re vital to it. The impact they have on the experience of our 3 million daily customers can’t be underestimated.”
“The recommendations coming out of the consultation show just how serious we are about tackling this issue and getting soft skills the recognition they so rightly deserve.”
“Establishing the working group is the start of that journey but this isn’t a challenge that can be undertaken by businesses alone – the education sector, voluntary and youth groups must come together with industry to realise the potential of the hard value of soft skills.”
Entrepreneur James Caan CBE said, “When I look at the workplace today, it is these vital skills that are making and breaking businesses and careers. Everyone, from Chief Executives to young people in their first job, need these skills to realise their potential and help make their business productive and high-performing.”
“Economic conditions mean today’s business environment is more competitive than ever, and we need people with the right skills to stay ahead of the widening productivity gap.”
“It’s time for employers, government and educators to take action to recognise, promote and improve them. If we succeed, the prize is worth more than £109 billion to the UK economy by 2020, and it will make a real difference to the careers and lives of millions of people.”
The report follows a three month cross industry consultation, which included the CBI, National Youth Agency, Pearson and National Grid, and was backed by entrepreneur James Caan CBE. Over 60 organisations and individuals took part in the consultation, submitting either written or oral evidence.
The recommendation of a formal soft skills framework for schools, employers and employees comes as a result of consultation findings that people at all life stages are struggling to understand, develop and express the soft skills they need for their next career stage.
A proposed framework would embed the importance of soft skills in education, employment and wider society and enable the ongoing development and improvement of these skills throughout an individual’s career and lifetime.
The report also found that, specifically amongst young people, the current lack of a standardised set of defined skills, which are both recognisable and have a clear means to be achieved, results in many young people not understanding what they need to be work-ready or how to progress their careers.
The report comes as new research from Development Economics demonstrates that having developed soft skills, can boost an individual’s lifetime earnings, by up to almost 15%.
Soft skills contribute an estimated £88 billion to the UK economy. Ninety seven per cent of employers surveyed say that they are important to their business success, yet a third of employers (32%) don’t assess these during appraisals and almost half (43%) don’t assess these when considering an employee for promotion.
