Have you ever found yourself in a situation, in high school, college, or even the workforce, where you have felt as though your abilities are sub-par in comparison to those around you? Maybe it has been in an interaction with a professor or during an interview, and you are left feeling incompetent due to a lack of well-developed, soft skills.

Whether it be the capacity to think critically, communicate effectively, or even adapt to the situation you are in, soft skills are incredibly important in a number of aspects of our lives. These skills are prominently essential when dealing with professionals and those superior to us. Are our future leaders developing the necessary tools to succeed in society?

There has been recent discussion amongst Indiana lawmakers about potentially making “soft skills” a standard to be taught in high schools across Indiana. Is the development of skills such as strong leadership, high work ethic, and good time management worth instilling into students at the high school level? Or is there even a need to specifically require such skills to be taught? Are there more important standards that focus should centered upon rather than “soft skills”?

A number of questions can arise because of this proposal, but I think the answers lie best in the voices of those proceeding into the workforce and those business professionals allowing such entry. These are the people that are either being faced with the realization that they do/do not possess the abilities to thrive or that the potential employee pool is lacking important knowledge beyond that of the hard skills required for the tasks at hand.

Inarguably, soft skills are beneficial. The key in this discussion is how soft skills would be implemented into a high school curriculum. I believe it would take the combined input of college-age students, professionals, and high school educators to develop a plan of action for this sort of topic. Standardized testing would likely not prove to show advancements in the skill sets of those taking one step closer to the professional world.

Being able to bubble in multiple choice questions about soft skills does not mean that one actually possesses such skills. Rather, workshops offering the advice and information leading to stronger, soft skills may be the most effective route. High school educators could present information and connect said information with real-life examples that are relevant to the student audience. If high schoolers choose to use the presented information to their advantage, great. If students choose not to benefit from the offered help, that is their loss, and at least school systems are taking a step towards trying to help our future workforce.

Decisions on related laws and implemented standards are scheduled to be dealt with by education centers as well as the state board during the weeks to come. Potentially, we could see beneficial shifts in school curriculums arising in the near future.