Soft skills contribute £88 billion to the UK economy, research finds

Soft skills, which include communication, teamwork and time management, contribute £88 billion to the UK economy, research by a campaign calling for the re-evaluation of soft skills has found.

Research commissioned by the campaign led by McDonald's forecasts that the value soft skills adds to the economy will increase to £109 billion over the next five years.

The initiative is backed by other organisations including the CBI, Barclays and learndirect, as well as entrepreneur James Caan. Its report forecasts that the value soft skills adds to the economy will increase to £109 billion over the next five years.

The paper also warns that employers, government and educators are not currently supporting soft skills sufficiently. It predicts that more than half a million UK workers will be significantly held back by a lack of soft skills by 2021, with food services, retail and healthcare being the industries most at risk.

The campaign will invite businesses, policy experts, campaign groups, trade associations and academics to create and share new ways to recognise and improve soft skills in the workplace. A three-month consultation opens today. The findings and a series of long-term recommendations will be published later in 2015.

Neil Carberry, CBI director for employment and skills said: "Business is clear that developing the right attitudes and attributes in people — such as resilience, respect, enthusiasm and creativity — is just as important as academic or technical skills. In an ever more competitive jobs market it is these qualities that will give young talent a head start and also allow existing employees to progress to higher-skilled, better-paid roles."

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