How lack of soft skills hinders young graduates from their dream jobs

When 23-year-old Gloria Achieng got her first job, she received a warm welcome. Being a painter at a construction site, Gloria arrived at work with a bag of her own tools.

However, her colleagues began lending her their tools, so she didn’t really need to use hers. Through this sharing of working tools, she quickly built a rapport with her colleagues.

“It was a month-long job and I was the only woman. My male colleagues kept commenting about my looks as they lent me their tools, saying I was beautiful,” she says.

While this attention seemed normal to her as a young and new employee, Gloria felt that it only resulted in distraction since most of her colleagues wasted much time telling stories around her instead of working. This affected their performance rate yet each employee had a daily target to deliver on.

“On three occasions during that first week, my boss walked in abruptly and found us just engaging in idle talk yet we were supposed to be working, and this really angered him. When we went to get our dues at the end of that week, my supervisor was angry with me and told me I couldn’t continue with my job. I ended up losing my job in just a week,” she shares.

Gloria, a mother of one, studied construction at a Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institution in Nairobi and graduated in April 2022.

After that job loss, Gloria began looking for a new job. She says that now, whenever she gets a work opportunity, she maintains focus, no matter how short-term it may be.

Gloria says that she was taught proper communication and entrepreneurship skills in schools, but she also admits that she faced problems setting boundaries with her workmates, and communicating effectively, especially because most of them were way older than she is.

“I am  22 and some colleagues just see me as a little girl. Most of them, including policemen who regularly visit the construction site, ask if I have an identification card,” she says.

“I have a well-written CV which I drafted myself. I usually leave it with the 'soldiers' (security guards) at the gates so they can pass it to the construction managers. I have never enlisted a professional to help me with the CV and perhaps that affects my chances of getting a good and permanent job,” says Gloria.

Gloria’s story is a demonstration of how some qualified graduates fail to reach their potential simply because they lack soft skills.

Data from the International Labour Organisation School to Work Transition surveys show that most education systems focus too much on ensuring students master technical skills while ignoring soft skills such as proper communication and emotional intelligence.

Bernard Ogoi, a communication practitioner, describes soft skills as those that enable one to work effectively with others at the workplace. He says such skills include the ability to work in a team, the ability to effectively manage one’s time and multi-task, and the ability to maintain self-drive.

“A good employee is not just one who is able to deliver on their roles, a good employee is one who carries themselves professionally in a work setting,” says Ogoi.

Elizabeth Mutunga, a human resources consultant and practitioner, says soft skills are important, especially for young job seekers. She advises job seekers and new employees to be guarded in their mannerisms at work.

“Things like how you walk into an interview, sit and talk say a lot about your attitude and can determine whether you get the job or not.

“Keep learning and improving your soft skills because most times those are the things the employer is looking for, not just your academic certificates,” she says.

Laura Barasa, a lecturer from the Department of Economics and Development Studies at the University of Nairobi, says:

“Lack of soft skills implies that graduates lack sound cognitive and emotional skills that are critical in enhancing strategic decision making and personal productivity. These factors reduce their employment chances,” says Laura.

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