To get a job these days, you need the proper specialized skills. Architects need to know how to use computer-aided design, health care professionals must be able to monitor vital signs and software developers have to be masters at coding.
Employees in all professions also need transferable skills such as communication, teamwork and problem-solving. It’s these soft skills that can set job candidates apart — and are arguably more valued than technical skills. According to a recent survey by online job site ZipRecruiter, 93 percent of employers said soft skills play a crucial role in hiring decisions. Another recent survey found that six in 10 companies said they would hire and train employees for jobs if they possessed time management, leadership or a host of other transferable skills.
This framework of hard skills versus soft skills is useful for workers who want to articulate their value while looking for promotions or new opportunities. It’s also valuable for learning and development professionals eager to educate their workforce for the constantly evolving future of work, and for human resources professionals who make hiring decisions.
However, this binary hard-versus-soft lens is the wrong way to view skills development. A more effective approach to support the development of new expertise is to provide specialized and transferable skills alongside each other through peer-to-peer delivery of learning — that is, within the context of a particular industry by professionals who work in that field.
Corporate L&D programs don’t always deliver the returns that companies are seeking. There are several underlying reasons for this. In some cases, training is top-down and delivered by outside consultants. In other cases, employees don’t see the need to do something different. Sometimes new skills and knowledge aren’t able to take root in an entrenched corporate culture.
But employees in all fields very much want training and education. In fact, they actively seek it out. In the case of licensed professionals — the one in four Americans who need a local, state or federal occupational license to hold a particular job — it’s mainly because they must fulfill state-level continuing education mandates. However, research also suggests that most professionals want more than just check-the-box training. Not only do they want to upgrade their skill sets, they also want to stay abreast of industry trends so they can grow their business or open the door to career-advancing opportunities.
In many instances, professionals in all fields and types of businesses are especially eager to improve their transferable skills. It’s not just the critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and written communication skills that potential employers value so highly. It’s also networking, strategic thinking, a basic knowledge of finance and other entrepreneurial tools that are valuable for people running their own businesses as well as company employees.
When people decide to become engineers or chiropractors or veterinarians, for instance, they sign up for learning programs to learn the specialized skills needed to construct bridges, straighten spines and care for animals. These classes are almost always taught by instructors who have long work histories in these same fields.
But when it comes to transferable skills — crucial building blocks for life-long learning and ongoing professional development — such training is usually handled by experts in leadership or team-building who actually know little about the day-to-day or long-term profession-specific challenges faced by the individuals they’re teaching.
Transferable skills are often more abstract than specialized and technical skills. Teaching leadership, critical thinking or entrepreneurship is in many ways more difficult and less concrete than explaining a new process, a new technology or a new industry trend. That’s why lessons delivered by peers can help unlock the full potential of corporate training. Peers have detailed knowledge about their companies and their industry, and they understand the context in which training is delivered.
L&D that takes place in the context of a profession will have more relevance. An individual will be more likely to understand something and apply their new knowledge and skills if they’re able to learn in a real-world context and see exactly how something connects to their profession.
Take communication, a universal skill needed in all corners of the world of work. It’s one thing to bring in an outside expert to teach written and oral communication skills. But different professions need different approaches. A veterinary technician talking to a pet owner about their sick animal will need a different set of communication skills than a home inspector who’s writing up a report listing the problems with a homebuyer’s dream house. Peers with industry-specific expertise can provide training and education in the context that practitioners must have to develop their own skills and grow a business.
Learning delivered by peers can help individuals identify other skills they should learn. Because peers have expertise in the same field, they’re able to give industry-specific insights in the context of their similar professional experiences. And, peers are also trusted sources of information and knowledge.
Whether licensed professionals and other workers want specialized skills or transferable skills or some other skill set, they should seek out peers. Context is king, and professional peers are best positioned to help people get even better at what they do best.
