Identification and Evaluation of Soft Skills for Employment and Growth: Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh

Abstract

This study has attempted to identify and evaluate soft skills, required
for different categories of jobs in Bangladesh. To this end, data have been
collected through a self-administered inventory from 550 job advertisements
purposively selected from three online job sites. Accordingly, a wide array of
soft skills has been enlisted. Besides, the results of the chi-square test have
revealed the association between soft skills and job categories. Furthermore, it
is evident from cross tabulation analysis that variations exist among different
categories of jobs in the requirements of particular soft skills. However, some
soft skills are found to be common to all categories of jobs. Finally, it has been
suggested that learning of soft skills is a lifelong process and requires
continuous efforts, starting from early childhood and gets enriched at every
stage of life where families, educational institutions, personal and professional
experience as well as surroundings play crucial roles. So, individuals need to
train themselves to acquire these skills beyond academic or technical arena.