Soft skills: What are they and why do you need them?
Soft skills are all about how you interact with other people, so you’ll need them no matter which career you choose.
Whether you’re looking to get into a career in travel, tourism, and aviation, or whether you’re seeking work in marketing, teaching, business, or practically anything else, you’ll hear about soft skills – and you’ll need them.
Here’s a little more about what soft skills are, why you need them, and how you’ll learn all about them at ITC.
What are soft skills?
Soft skills are basically all of your non-technical skills.
For example, knowing how to poach an egg is a technical skill, and so is driving a car, creating a PowerPoint presentation, and changing a light bulb.
Soft skills, on the other hand, include things like good communication, listening skills, being creative, leading a group, resolving conflicts, having a positive attitude, and working well in a team.
Soft skills are all of the things that you use when dealing with other people. Some people are naturally great at some of them, such as people who can get up and confidently give a speech, or introduce themselves to a group of strangers.
In many cases, soft skills are things we all work on throughout our lives. Most of us are naturally strong in some areas, and weaker in others, but the good news is that you can learn and improve at all of them, just like you can learn to poach an egg or drive a car.
Why will you need them everywhere you go?
There is no such thing as a job that doesn’t require at least some soft skills.
If you’re looking to work in tourism, travel, and aviation, you’ll definitely need them. An airline host needs to be friendly and help people feel safe and comfortable, especially for nervous fliers or for young children. Hotel managers need to know how to lead a team and keep everyone focused on their tasks, and travel agents have to listen to their clients carefully in order to help plan the perfect holiday.
And all of this is just as true in other industries as well. All workplaces have managers and leaders, and whether you’re a mechanic or a vet, you’ll need good communication skills to explain the problem at hand and how you’re going to fix it.
How ITC teaches soft skills
ITC teaches a wide variety of technical skills, and you’ll learn everything from the NATO phonetic alphabet to how to run a safety demonstration on a plane during your time with us.
But at ITC, you’ll also learn a lot about soft skills, too.
Our courses include training on important soft skills such as customer service, cross-cultural communication, and teamwork. Our classroom-style learning lets you get accustomed to working with others, taking turns at leading, and speaking in front of groups. You will improve your communication skills through working with our fantastic tutors and working on assignments, and you’ll earn time management skills through your studies.
That’s just another great reason why ITC can set you up for a wonderful career in travel, aviation, and tourism, or any industry you set your mind to. Get in touch with us today to find out more about what you’ll learn when you study with us, and where that might take you.
Campus Study – college@itc.co.nz 0800 TOURISM (0800 868747) or https://www.itc.co.nz/contact-us/
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