ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET STUDENT DETAILS Student name: Tơ Tồn Phương Anh UNIT AND TUTORIAL DETAILS Unit name: Academic English Tutorial/Lectur e: Lecturer or Tutor name: Gabriel Ryan Student ID number: 21000883 Unit number: Aen-T321WSB-6 Class day and time: ASSIGNMENT DETAILS Title: Length : Individual Essay Due date: Date submitted: DECLARATION I hold a copy of this assignment if the original is lost or damaged I hereby certify that no part of this assignment or product has been copied from any other student’s work or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is made in the assignment I hereby certify that no part of this assignment or product has been submitted by me in another (previous or current) assessment, except where appropriately referenced, and with prior permission from the Lecturer / Tutor / Unit Coordinator for this unit No part of the assignment/product has been written/ produced for me by any other person except where collaboration has been authorised by the Lecturer / Tutor /Unit Coordinator concerned I am aware that this work may be reproduced and submitted to plagiarism detection software programs for the purpose of detecting possible plagiarism (which may retain a copy on its database for future plagiarism checking) Student’s signature: Note: An examiner or lecturer / tutor has the right to not mark this assignment if the above declaration has not been signed In today's recruitment market, large and small businesses both want to recruit the best and best employees that help their companies grow stronger day by day The working environment is becoming more complicated and challenging, demanding employees' ability to adjust and cope with unexpected bad situations The companies are looking for individuals with not only experience or some specific skills, but also can work productively to stay long-term According to Tulgan, the most common recruiting mistake that causes employers a great deal of frustration and disappointment is focusing too much on hard skills and not enough on soft skills It is evidence that soft skills are as much important, or can even be more essential than hard skills in the workplace However, soft skills are often overlooked and underestimated as an insignificant factor in the working environment, especially in schools During their education, students are not well-trained in these essential soft skills that are required for them to work after graduation This essay will discuss some reasons why students nowadays are lacking these essential soft skills, and why more focus on these skills should be implemented in schools Finally, some feasible solutions are suggested to help students overcome the lack of soft skills in higher education Firstly, it is a fact that most schools, nowadays, focus solely on teaching students to master the compulsory subjects and develop the abilities for learning new knowledge Because many schools believe that foundational and technical knowledge is critical for students to develop and maintain a healthy and independent lifestyle, both in and out of school However, according to Schulz, soft skills are the essential factor in developing individual personalities, which also help them learn new skills required for the jobs later on Therefore, the education system should place as much importance on soft skills as it does on hard skills Another factor contributing to the lack of soft skills in students is the fact that students are less likely to be interested in studying and improving their soft skills As they not recognize the value of soft skills earlier during their school days, which, unfortunately, will become increasingly important later in their future workplace Without a doubt, more and more employers are complaining about hiring new graduates with a good educational background but lacking essential soft skills, due to the shortsightedness of today's education system Therefore, soft skills increasingly become a vital requirement for success in many professions (Taylor, 2016) Nevertheless, students must acquire and improve both hard and soft skills before being able to enter the job market There is no denying that the importance of academic knowledge in students' experiences, however, schools should also provide the opportunity for students to gain and develop soft skills during their school years To increase the chances of success in future careers, soft skills play an important role in helping students Soft skills are skills such as teamwork, communication, or leadership, etc.… showing individual abilities to work effectively in different types of working environments On the other hand, hard skills demonstrate expertise and mastery in specific fields, which can be measured using standardized tests or examinations According to Knasnis et al., soft skills are becoming more and more important in almost every job that enables individuals to work, interact with people in meaningful ways, and progress within an organization Without a doubt, most careers need collaboration, and it is critical for individuals to develop these essential soft skills to boost their employability and land their dream careers Moreover, to advance in careers and to reach more job opportunities, people can try to include soft skills on their resume, introduce and emphasize these skills during the interview and keep improving them when working Individuals with strong soft skills are much more beneficial for companies because those with these skills can help the companies in many ways, such as growing a wide network or developing strong leadership In other words, people with good soft skills acquired an inquisitive mindset, which helps them explore more professional opportunities and quickly gain industry expertise to advance further in their careers Employers are always looking for employees with a strong professional network to assist them in making business connections, providing professional development, and even making smart recruiting choices Furthermore, people with strong soft skills can assess what type of leadership techniques their team needs to succeed and then execute these techniques depending on the real-life situation (Indeed Editorial Team, 2021) Due to the fact that employers continue to complain about students lack of soft skills, yet there are some reasonable solutions towards this problem Participating in extracurricular activities at school is one of the most efficient ways to gain soft skills Students may rapidly strengthen soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, problem solving, and so on, by interacting with other students in a variety of activities at these events Another solution is that schools should allow students to choose between learning soft skills and hard skills based on their specialties By doing this, students who are planning to study on jobs which require contacts with customers can prioritize more on studying soft skills and those who are planning to study on jobs that not need too much communication can focus on studying hard skills As a result, students are able to learn what they want while simultaneously improving skills that they will need in the future For further improvement on soft skills, students need to learn from books, online courses or volunteer activities For example, according to Ko and Rossen, they define and detail many exercises for boosting student engagement as well as soft skills in their book "Teaching Online: A Practical Guide" Moreover, they recommended using scenarios and case studies to encourage analysis and problem-based learning in response to a specific difficulty Additionally, in University of Florida course Nutritional Management of Nursery Crops, they give students a description of the problem and its symptoms, as well as any data they need to address it, such as soil or water analysis So that students are more capable to solve problems and adapt to unpredictable situations In short, not only can schools help students cope with the shortage of soft skills in higher education but also students can enhance soft skills on their own To put it in a nutshell, it is a fact that the work environment is increasingly competitive and harsher, and soft skills are essential for adapting to this Many schools, however, believe that soft skills are not as important as other subjects and are not worth investing in As a result, to assist students in their future careers, schools must take steps such as making the necessary soft skills a mandatory subject and encouraging students to enroll in extracurricular or volunteer activities Even though soft skills are difficult to define and develop in a short time, schools should provide opportunities for students to learn soft skills early on in order to gain valuable experience for future careers Students will have more opportunities to apply for well-paying jobs and achieve success in the future Last but not least, in some certain jobs people seem to underappreciate the importance of soft skills, however, soft skills are expected to be an indispensable part to the success References 10 Reasons Why Soft Skills are Important to Employers (2021, May 25) Indeed Career Guide https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/why-are-soft-skills-important Khasnis, Y (2020) “Soft skills are attributes … Engage in meaningful interactions” Introduction International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, 8(Volume 8, Issue 5), 2320–28820 http://111.93.251.158/jspui/bitstream/123456789/3701/1/7_2020.pdf Ko, S., & Rossen, S (2017) Teaching online: A practical guide Routledge Schulz, B (2008) The Importance of Soft Skills: Education beyond academic knowledge In NAWA Journal of Language and Communication https://ir.nust.na/bitstream/10628/39/1/The%20Importance%20of%20Soft %20%20Skills-Education%20beyond%20academic%20knowledge.pdf Tulgan, B (2015) Bridging the Soft Skills Gap: How to Teach the Missing Basics to Todays Young Talent In Google Books John Wiley & Sons https://search.proquest.com/openview/6fe6ca6935b5060d0efd383b23494d0d/1?pqorigsite=gscholar&cbl=47267 Taylor, E (2016) Investigating the perception of stakeholders on soft skills development of students: Evidence from South Africa Interdisciplinary journal of e-skills and lifelong learning, 12(1), 1-18 ... John Wiley & Sons https://search.proquest.com/openview/6fe6ca6935b5 060 d0efd383b23494d0d/1?pqorigsite=gscholar&cbl=47 267 Taylor, E (20 16) Investigating the perception of stakeholders on soft... and it is critical for individuals to develop these essential soft skills to boost their employability and land their dream careers Moreover, to advance in careers and to reach more job opportunities,... or lecturer / tutor has the right to not mark this assignment if the above declaration has not been signed In today's recruitment market, large and small businesses both want to recruit the best