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Last updated on 5/2/24

Skills

Skills are somewhat trendy in the education world. šŸ˜Ž

Before, we were mostly looking at how much knowledge students could acquire (by heart, without cheating and looking up for answers). Today, because knowledge is so easily accessible on the internet, we look at other things. Knowledge is still important to some extent, but now weā€™re expecting skills.

Letā€™s have a look at them. šŸ”Ž

What Are Skills?

Skills are sometimes considered as the 21st-century gold, as they can hold a lot of value. This is, to some extent, what you sell when you meet an employer: ā€œHere are my skills, this is why you should hire meā€.

On the other end of the spectrum, a lot of employers today are complaining that itā€™s very hard to find people with the right skills. Why? Because many schools havenā€™t updated their curricula to fit the needs of companies today. Technology grows faster and faster, transforming the skills that are expected in the workplace every few years ā€“ if not every year sometimes. This is why youā€™ll hear about ā€œskills shortageā€ or ā€œskills gapā€ a lot.

What Does a Skill Look Like?

Usually, skills are represented by a word (or 2-3 words), like what youā€™d see on a resume or on LinkedIn: ā€œC++ programming, project management, digital marketing, etcā€.

You can have different levels for each skill (beginner, advancedā€¦):

You combine a skill with a level. This means you can be ā€œBeginnerĀ in Design thinkingā€, ā€œIntermediateĀ in Database developmentā€, etc.

Different Types of Skills

A skill can be in one of 3 categories:

  • šŸ§ Ā Knowledge: what you know (eg. Project management methodologies)

  • šŸ’ŖĀ Know-how: what you know how to do. Also known as hard skills. (eg. Data visualisation)

  • šŸ¤Ā Behaviours: how you react or behave. Also known as soft skills. (eg. Problem solving)

Today, you need some knowledge, but also more and more know-hows and behaviours. Some say that behaviours enable acquiring other skills, which is why they are among the most desirable skills.

Skills Frameworks

At this point, you may ask: ā€œWhere do I find a list of all skills that exist?ā€ šŸ§

Bad news: thereā€™s no such list. Everyone has a different view on skills. Each school can be different. Each employer can be different. Each country can be different. etc.

Every now and then, someone says ā€œHey, letā€™s create a standard, so everyone speaks the same languageā€. But then there are several standards, which kills the point of having a unique place to look at, and itā€™s hard to know which standard to follow. šŸ™ˆ

Even though itā€™s easy to get lost, Iā€™d like to present a few skills frameworks, which are the biggest attempts at creating a standard for all stakeholders:

  • Employers

  • Schools, universities and training centers

  • Students

  • Public employment agencies

ESCO

ESCO (European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations) is the European multilingual classification of Skills, Competences and Occupations. It works like a dictionary.

The aim of ESCO is to support job mobility across Europe, to create a more integrated labour market within Europe.

There are more than 2,900 occupations and 13,000 skills listed! šŸ™€

The ESCO website classifies jobs and skills in Europe

As youā€™ll see if you browse on ESCO website, it is a hugeĀ task!

O*NET

O*NET is the US equivalent to ESCO. It is the primary source of occupational information in the US.

The data helps to understand the rapidly changing nature of work and how it impacts the workforce and U.S. economy.

Like ESCO, the database is public andĀ available online for free. Both are actually interoperable.

You will also find a classified list of jobs and their skills, with indicators for jobs that are trending (the most demanded ones).

The O*NET framework classifies jobs and skills in the US

Example of certificate of achievement
Example of certificate of achievement