Humanity Hub and THUAS team up to research and teach ‘Leadership Skills for an SDG Mindset’ to young professionals
The Hague Humanity Hub is delighted to be working with The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS) to research and develop training to teach young professionals ‘soft skills’ relevant to leadership for future governance professionals.
The programme will initially begin with qualitative research led by Dr. Sylvia Bergh (THUAS) and Dr. Naomi van Stapele (THUAS). The two researchers have recently been awarded a grant by the Municipality of The Hague to conduct the research, and to then apply the findings of the research to the development and implementation of training sessions for a carefully selected group of recent graduates and job-seekers living in The Hague.
What are ‘soft skills’?
‘Soft Skills’ can be thought of as akin to ’emotional and social intelligence’, or in more everyday terms ‘people skills’. They tend not to be technical in nature, and are instead related to working well in groups, managing people, and getting the best from collaborators and colleagues. The oft-repeated aphorism is that “hard skills get you the interview, but soft skills get you the job”. Often, too, ‘soft skills’ are transferrable across industries and job roles.
Examples of ‘soft skills’ can include ability to deal with conflict, manners and enthusiasm, general ‘likeability’, inter-personal communication, and much more besides.
Why are ‘soft skills’ becoming more important?
There are many possible reasons as to why ‘soft skills’ rather than technical ‘hard skills’ are becoming more important in the modern workplace – and particularly for people in governance roles. Partially, this is due to the automation of processes, meaning that many workplace practices are more about negotiation and relationship management than technical knowledge.
As more jobs become related to managing people and carrying messaging across to a large group (particularly in governance roles), the ability to ‘bring people with you’ becomes more important too.
How will the research progress from here?
Dr. Bergh and Dr Van Stapele will begin their research in the near future. We look forward to the results, and helping to transform these learnings into a programme that can help young and future professionals benefit from them.
Interested in more opportunities for career development? Check out the Peace & Justice Talent Hub!
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
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