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Skills training: why the distinction between soft and hard skills no longer matters

Glyn Roberts

Appreciation for soft skills always lagged behind the status of technical qualifications and, in the past, those who specialised in the training of soft skills might not have commanded the same salary as the technical trainers.

Hard skills, it seemed, could be pinned down, examined and rewarded with qualifications and a lucrative job.

Soft skills, like time management, selling techniques and presentation skills were a ‘nice to have’ but difficult to itemise - some even felt they were innate and, despite enjoyable team-building away days, could only be polished up but never really taught.

Nowadays, life-long learning is a recognised part of professional life and no employer would expect to hire someone, especially in a technical role, who didn’t have to update their qualifications continuously as new technologies are introduced.

Whatever platform or language your new recruit is qualified for, it is only a matter of time before they are needed ‘back in the classroom’ or tucking into a virtual course, to get up to speed on the features of the next release.

The shift in thinking, which makes learning and upgrading skills part of a worker’s professional role, has had an impact on the way people are hired and, inevitably, in the way that soft skills and hard skills are being taught.

Source: Press coverage in TrainingZone – read the full article. 

 


Glyn Roberts

UK Managing Director

Glyn Roberts is UK Managing Director of Global Knowledge, and he believes that people are key to the company’s success. He is committed to creating the right culture and making Global Knowledge a place that values the individual, encouraging ownership and being clear about strategy in order to link personal endeavor to corporate success.

Glyn’s experience in learning and development spans 20 years and he has held senior roles within Cable & Wireless, NTL, Lloyds TSB and the Westcon Group before joining Global Knowledge as Operations Director in 2006.  He rose through the ranks to take the helm as Managing Director in 2018 and credits his willingness to take advantage of opportunities as his most important life skill. He feels that a career in learning is incredibly rewarding and the times when he has influenced a person’s development and seen tangible results he describes as ‘intoxicating’.

Since his recent appointment to Managing Director at Global Knowledge, the UK division has spearheaded a partnership with Qufaro to deliver Level 3 and 4 cybersecurity apprenticeship programmes, and the global business has been ranked in the Top 20 IT Training Companies by Training Industry Magazine.  Glyn attributes the company’s success to the time Global Knowledge takes to understand their clients’ business and issues before working with them to create value solutions.

Glyn enjoys sports that fuel the adrenalin, owns a motorbike and is a motorsports fan. He is married with two children and feels one of life’s greatest pleasures is experiencing things through his childrens eyes.

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