Human Skills and the Big Five Personality Framework
The OECD is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. This is an international endeavor whose aim is "to build better policies for better lives", in which many nations around the world take part. During one of the university courses I attended this past academic year, I learned about the effort of the OECD to define, spread, improve the ability of individuals to navigate the digital age, i.e. the age we are currently living in. In fact, the OECD is only one of the organizations treating the topic of fundamental skills in today's day and age. The reason for which this article looks at the OECD efforts in raising soft skills awareness has to do with a specific topic: the relationship between the Big Five** **personality traits and soft skills. This specific sub-topic is very enticing to me, because what can inherent personality traits have to do with malleable attitudinal abilities? The Big Five personality framework is one of the most reliable personality tests available out there. I wrote about it in detail in this article, which you may find useful for understanding more clearly the topic. Soft skills, on the other hand, are skills related to human behavior and attitudes (e.g. entrepreneurial attitude, ability to learn, stress resistance). By definition, as a consequence, skills are malleable, as opposed to personality traits, which are considered fixed characteristics we inherently possess. Soft skills are often compared to *cognitive, *or "hard" skills, which are those capabilities that have to do with practical matters (e.g. being proficient at using Excel, being able to read properly and understand manuscripts, computing basic calculus).
As a consequence, this article delves into the relationship between personality traits and soft skills in the work environment, where the OECD is most focused. The job market is the main place where *soft skills *are taken into account very prominently, or so it appears. Countless job posts contain soft skills among their requirements, besides threshold cognitive abilities. Over the past couple of years especially, the topic of soft skills has widened its scope and weight in society at large. There appears to be a nostalgic willingness to counteract the paradigm-shifting advancements in technologies with authentic human savoir-faire. Human skills are becoming increasingly more a fundamental part of our existence and the stories we tell ourselves. The OECD has been contributing to the clear definition and spread of human skills. According to the OECD, skills are individual characteristics defined by 3 key factors:
- Productivity: drive individual and socio economic progress
- Measurability: are measurable, i.e. can be evaluated meaningfully
- Malleability: they are malleable through environmental changes and investment
The OECD categorizes skills according to their function.
- Cognitive skills → i.e. hard skills. These are involved in the process of acquiring and applying knowledge. They are articulated in 3 sub dimensions: Basic cognitive abilities → fundamental skills such as speed of processing and memory (mostly innate abilities that can be developed through personal investment)
- Knowledge acquired → the ability to assess, extract, interpret remembered knowledge
- Knowledge extrapolation → this involves complex processes needed to reflect on the information and conceptualize novel ways of dealing with problems
- Social and emotional skills → i.e. soft skills. These too are articulated in 3 dimensions: Achieving goals → this refers to perseverance, self control, resilience
- Working with others → the propensity to be sociable, respectful, empathetic
- Managing emotions → self esteem, optimism, confidence
Cognitive skills → i.e. hard skills. These are involved in the process of acquiring and applying knowledge. They are articulated in 3 sub dimensions:
- Basic cognitive abilities → fundamental skills such as speed of processing and memory (mostly innate abilities that can be developed through personal investment)
- Knowledge acquired → the ability to assess, extract, interpret remembered knowledge
- Knowledge extrapolation → this involves complex processes needed to reflect on the information and conceptualize novel ways of dealing with problems
Social and emotional skills → i.e. soft skills. These too are articulated in 3 dimensions:
- Achieving goals → this refers to perseverance, self control, resilience
- Working with others → the propensity to be sociable, respectful, empathetic
- Managing emotions → self esteem, optimism, confidence