A Legal Practitioner, Mrs Funke Adekoya (SAN), has advised youths to improve on their honesty, ethics and integrity, being soft skills, to help them attain greater height in the competitive workplaces.

Adekoya, also the Managing Partner, Aelex Legal Practitioners and Arbitrators, gave the
advice on Tuesday at the Lagos State University, Ojo, third distinguished lecture series in Lagos.

It was entitled: “Market Imperatives: Re-Thinking Soft Skills in a Highly Competitive World.”

Adekoya said: “We should know that soft skills is a personal attribute that enables someone to interact effectively.

“Education is more than getting knowledge, but educating the hearts imbibe principles that will reflect forever.

“Working places in Nigeria nowadays need the soft skills of ethics, honesty and integrity to survive, because good characters make you more employable.

“We all know that times are hard which makes youths to be looking for opportunities to make money instead of building their integrity and characters.”

Also read: Arthritis, Cancer: Nutritionist harps on efficacy of parsley leaf

She said that characters might not get people the jobs they wanted, but characters would help to keep and retain the jobs.

Also, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Polaris Bank, said that every student should know that soft skills were personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively with others.

Abiru said that there were seven attributes which could help to be successful in the competitive workplace including leadership, teamwork and communication.

“Others are: problem-solving, work ethics, interpersonal skills and integrity because they are enduring soft skills qualities that will take anybody far in life.

“The employment world is very competitive, so adding soft skills to their attributes will go a long way because soft skills can never be outdated.

“Beyond soft skills and your education, you should also look at developing your technological knowledge,” he said.

In her remarks, Mrs Bountiful Adelanwa, a Social Worker, said that acquiring soft skills was not an end, but a life continuous life long journey.

Adelanwa, also the Executive Director, Bountiful Foundation (NGO), said that soft skills were lifelong learning projects for us all, particularly the brilliant ones.

“Hard skills will get you the jobs, but soft skills make you stay and excel on the job because they separate every individual from the crowd,” she said.

Adelanwa said that every student should understand that soft skills were what employers were looking for to survive a highly competitive world.

Vanguard