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Softly softly
White paper finds soft skills key to
boosting personal wage growth.
By Wade Zaglas
S
o, you’ve gained that important piece
of paper from a formal institution
such as a university or VET provider,
or perhaps you’ve decided to go on to
further your studies in a master’s program.
You’re highly educated, but your wage just
doesn’t seem to be heading north.
That’s the situation facing many
Australians at the moment as the country
languishes in one of the longest periods of
wage stagnation on record.
But according to a white paper entitled
Premium Skills, it will be soft or ‘human’
skills that will drive wage growth in the
near future, not necessarily the number of
degrees you have hanging on your wall.
The growing need for skills in
customer service, digital literacy and time
management mean that Australians who
develop soft or human skills could see their
income grow considerably in the future.
The paper, by Deloitte Access
Economics, concludes that by 2030 two-
thirds of Australian jobs will be “soft-skill
intensive”, with 96 per cent of all jobs
requiring skills in customer service, time
management and organisational expertise.
Workplace learning specialists DeakinCo
engaged Deloitte to “examine the link
16
between human skills and wages” in order
to get a better picture of their relevance
in the future.
The study identifies five core industries
that will be severely affected by shortages
in soft or human skills by 2030: government
services, education, construction, health
and professional services.
The paper also highlights how Australian
businesses are underspending on formal
training and spending more on recruitment
($4.5 billion annually compared with
$7 billion), and failing to future‑proof their
workforce by ignoring the importance of
investing in human skills.
“People are critical to the success of
businesses, yet many businesses are
focused on technology without thinking
about talent,” says Deloitte Access
Economics partner and report co-author
David Rumbens.
“In the current low wage growth
environment, improving the level of human
skills applied in the workforce could help to
shift the dial.”
Although roughly a third of Australian
workers hold a bachelor’s degree or
higher, businesses are citing shortages
in soft skills as a key barrier to business
success. Accordingly, the white paper
argues that human skills are quickly
becoming the “real currency” for success
in the workplace.
The study found that businesses that
invest in developing soft skills among
staff are building a “premium workforce
that will help future-proof productivity”.
Also, for every 10 percentage point
improvement in soft skills such as
communication, teamwork and critical
thinking, Australian workers are receiving
a 5 per cent rise in wages. However,
because these soft skills are difficult to
quantify, many businesses are choosing
to “buy the skills required” rather than
putting their energy into upskilling their
existing teams.
“Our white paper shows that businesses
are failing to upskill and train existing
employees, but instead try to fill that skills
gap via external sources,” DeakinCo CEO
Glenn Campbell says.
“It’s an unnerving trend, as we anticipate
the skills gap will broaden by 2030, with
two-thirds of jobs in Australia to be focused
on soft skills. In essence, human skills,
complementing academic qualifications,
will be the secret to work success in
the future.”
The paper concludes by urging
Australian business to balance recruitment
and training costs to “future-proof the
economy”.
“In order to propel the Australian
economy forward and raise the average
household income,” Campbell says,
“investment has to be spent in upskilling the
current Australian workforce with soft skills,
as well as providing support in education to
those looking to enter it.” ■