What comes to your mind when you hear “tech skills gap”? You think of skills traditionally associated with information technology firms like coding, software development, and network security management. If compared with hard skills, the gap in applied skills reaches across all sectors. This affects everyone from artists to healthcare workers to business professionals.

There’s a huge demand for workers with tech skills and it continues to soar up every day, across all industries. To better understand the problem and its solutions, consider the following five key points and the opportunities that this Tech Skills Gap offers:

 

Photo Credit: https://media.licdn.com

1. THE GAP EXISTS ACROSS ALL INDUSTRIES

Tech skills aren't specific just to the technology sector, but it runs across every industry. The main aim of these essential skills includes the ability to use technology to benefit the organization. Many people lack the necessary skills. That's a gap many people don't anticipate, and it's also an amazing opportunity to learn new skills and hone the existing.

2. DEMAND OUTPACES SUPPLY

There are more than 500,000 computing jobs open across the nation, but less than 50,000 students graduated with a computer science background in 2016. And the main hub of the graduated ones was IT alone. And this is the same issue with other fields, such as healthcare and business.

A survey conducted amongst the industrial hub showed:

• 62% of students coming out of school aren't prepared with the necessary tech skills
• 11% agree that school is effective in meeting skill need
• Three out of four employers feel that finding an employee with all job description requirements is rare

3. EDUCATORS MUST CREATE SOLUTIONS

Educators, institutions and industry advisers need to work together to create curriculums that meet today's demands. It's not only on the shoulders of employers and employees. This will likely include the movement toward an "anytime, anywhere" educational model to bring online and onsite opportunities together.

4. STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES MUST TAKE INITIATIVE

As more and more business require workers with applied tech and latest hard skills, the present generation is tasked to keep up with the flow to avoid falling into that gap. Advancing technology doesn't allow anyone to become contented. For those who see the gap as an opportunity, it's a great time to learn new skills and sharpen existing ones.

We at Amrutvahini College of Engineering (AVCOE), provide a distinctive excellence driven engineering education that will groom future generations of engineers and entrepreneurs. We aim to create self-disciplined, physically fit, mentally robust and morally strong engineers and technocrats with a high degree of integrity and sense of purpose. We open a new window, “window of innovation” where we put technology at the core of our field and help our students to build that ‘tech gap’ which will help them to challenge the ever-advancing technology.

A team of Engineering students from Karnataka had volunteered to develop an Android application for first year engineering students.

This app is called ‘Engienrai’ and it encapsulates the notes for engineering with all the subjects from the respective branches. Prepared and sorted by the engineering students themselves, Enginera's syllabus is purely based on Autonomous and VTU colleges. The application is very user-friendly. It contains notes and self-explanatory diagrams and drawings while giving free access to these notes of all the subjects under one roof. Once it is installed, it also works offline.

This application is very useful and informative to first years and is a must-have. It can be used in the following ways.

• Last moment preparation before the exam.
• Brush up tool for interviews and jobs.
• Peripheral introduction to basic engineering concepts before any competitive exams.

The app was developed by a team of nine students; one of them being an Animation Designer. They began working on this app in January 2017 and it was officially launched in September. The app also provides a platform for students to get their doubts clarified. The team makes it a point to answer the doubts posted by students. The team is also currently in works of developing second year engineering content. They believe that this app would be of a lot of use to Engineering students as it provides study material for free and that it will help them with their studies.

AVCOE believes that innovation like this one is what changes the world and we are always looking forward to support and encourage our students’ talent in the invention field.

The technology is developing at a rapid rate these days. New developments and the introduction of new machinery and equipment brought today will become an old news in a few days. So how do engineers in the various field keep up with the volatile environment? Engineering is a domain where one’s training never ends, even after years of professional schooling. Developing and honing both technical skills and soft skills is an utmost priority to sustain in the market for the engineers. Unlike hard skills which can be proven through technical work, soft skills need to be proven with a decree of one’s latent talent which the person learns through surroundings.

Soft Skills are an amalgamation of people skills, social skills, communication skills, character traits, attitude towards any object or person, career attributes, social intelligence and emotional intelligence quotients that enable people to effectively manoeuvre their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals with complementing hard skills. These skills can include communication abilities, personal habits, time management, teamwork and leadership traits, social graces, language skills and cognitive or emotional empathy.

The following list of soft skills may be useful for your resume, job descriptions or training plan.

1. Communication- Communication plays a key role as this skill is two-fold, where one needs to deal with explaining concepts to clients and managers and translating them from technical to conventional methods. The second involves giving instructions to team members and others without rubbing anyone the wrong way.

2. Courtesy- Manners Maketh Man. Being polite is necessary if one wants to progress in any field.

3. Flexibility- Adaptability, accepting new things and a nature willing to change according to situations should be shown by the person in order to sustain in any field.

4. Integrity- A person who is honest and have high ethical and moral values, boosts the spirit of surrounding where he/she works.

5. Interpolation skills- Everyone likes a cheerful, friendly and humorous nature. Showing compassion, empathy, and patience towards other helps in rejuvenating the morale of everyone.

6. Positive Attitude- One must cherish an optimistic, encouraging, happy, confident and enthusiastic nature in the society.

7. Professionalism-  Professionalism, a word which sends an instant and a clear message. The qualities included in it are- poised, businesslike, appearance and well-dressed.

8. Responsibility- Everyone likes a person who is reliable, accountable and gets the job done. This characteristic shows off the true personality of anyone as it is to be proved and not shown.

9. Teamwork- Co-operation, tagging along with others, supportive of others’ work and collaboration - all are synonymous to Team Work. And the proverb “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships” stands true to it.

10. Work Ethic- It’s a belief in work, a set of values centered on the importance of doing work and reflected especially in a desire or determination to work hard.The boss always admires hard-working, self-motivated, loyal employees.