Why soft skills are more important than ever in construction

Being able to communicate effectively, problem-solve, adapt to a situation, and work as part of a team are all buzzwords that people throw into their CVs or into a job description to bulk up the content. In fact, many people who may believe they exhibit certain soft skills might not fully understand what they mean. Time management, for example, goes beyond simply meeting deadlines – it can look like a perfectly planned and balanced schedule, leading to a day running like a well-oiled machine.

In an industry like construction, the emphasis has always been on hard skills. Job-related proficiencies, built up over years spent in the industry and exposure to its many sectors. Or through the academic route - studying the theory and reasoning behind getting the job done. Due to the highly technical nature of construction and the stakes at play, hard skills are heavily focused on.

However, soft skills are getting much more attention in the industry now for a variety of reasons. There are tangible benefits to hiring people with a good balance of soft skills. Having someone in the design team who can efficiently communicate any changes that need to be made can sharply reduce the impact on time and resources that a design change would carry.

In construction, the focus on soft skills is especially important for more junior roles as well as senior positions.

For someone in a junior role - perhaps someone who has recently graduated - the hard skills aren’t likely to be there just yet, meaning that the focus should be on the intangibles such as their overall approach, willingness to learn, how well they can communicate and prioritise, and how well they learn from their missteps. The hard skills can be taught, but how quickly they get there is dependent on their personal balance of soft skills.

Meanwhile, someone in a senior position, for example a contracts director, will require a blend of soft skills to perform their role effectively. In this instance, the hard skills are no longer a bonus but a necessity. To succeed you must be quick to adapt, have a great work ethic, be a strong leader, manage your time well, and be emotionally intelligent.

That isn’t to say that soft skills are unimportant for those left in the middle. On the contrary, they’re still important, but at that level of work, the hard skills can be a priority allowing you to show off what you know and how you can apply it. The soft skills would work as a boost to set you apart from your peers.

According to LinkedIn's 2019 Global Talent Trends Report, 89% of recruiters stated that during the interview process, a candidate being deemed not suitable came down to their soft skills. These numbers may be different for those within construction and its niche sectors due to the requirement of hard skills, but the number still shows the crucial nature of good soft skills. To add to this, 91% of recruitment professionals had stated that soft skills were vital to the future of hiring.

With the increase in demand for talented individuals in facades together with the lack of talent with the niche subset of skills, people are being hired for mindset and future potential to fill the gaps. This means that soft skills have recently become the key area of consideration for many roles.

Although soft skills are much less tangible than hard skills, they can still be taught or learned by anyone willing to put in the work. There are many qualifications that can demonstrate not only the skills selected, but more broadly a willingness – or eagerness - to learn and develop oneself.

One last area that should also be highlighted is the need for soft skills to help shift the public image that construction currently carries. That of a blue-collar industry, full of dangerous work. Facilitating this shift in image may be the boost needed for construction to be seen as an attractive career path by those from younger generations.

To summarise, soft skills are a key area for the industry to focus on for short and long-term gain. It doesn’t mean that hard skills take a back seat, but especially in entry-level roles, hiring for mindset can make all the difference. Small steps and actions for each individual contractor can make industry-wide changes overall.