Get career ready by taking employer-endorsed soft skills courses with your OU degree.
The job market is a jungle nowadays.
With so many different platforms advertising job postings and countless CV templates to choose from, the mere thought alone of looking for a new opportunity can be overwhelming and borderline terrifying.
When the job market is as saturated as it currently is, adding another notch to your skillset ‘belt’ could be the edge that puts you ahead of other applicants.
The Open University (OU) has unveiled a new collection of free short courses on its OpenLearn platform, aimed at helping young graduates enhance their CVs with essential soft skills sought by employers.
This initiative comes in response to a recent OU survey of 500 employers, which revealed striking insights into the current job market:
- 80% of employers consider soft skills as important as technical skills
- 74% view soft skills as a decisive factor in an employee’s long-term success
- 63% have noticed a decline in soft skills among graduates since the pandemic
- 74% believe educational institutions should do more to prepare graduates for the workforce
- Over half of employers have increased their emphasis on soft skills in hiring criteria
Keeping up with current trends is one of the best ways to make yourself stand out as a strong candidate within the modern workforce.
The survey identified the top three soft skills most valued by employers, which these courses aim to address:
- Problem-solving
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Communication skills
The Open University understands what employers want, and its latest offering of the ‘best in-class’ courses and resources will help thousands of young people across the UK become career-ready.
Professor Ian Pickup, Pro Vice Chancellor of The Open University, stated, “Our research clearly shows that employers value soft skills highly. OU graduates often enter the job market with a distinct advantage in these areas due to their unique learning experience which often involves students working while studying.”
He added: “By offering these free courses, we’re extending this opportunity to all young graduates, empowering them to meet the evolving demands of the job market, develop their confidence, and boost their employability.”
All of OU’s free courses provide a downloadable statement of participation which becomes available upon completion.
They can be studied by anyone at any time, with no cohorts, presentation dates or time limits and are offered with a Creative Commons licence.
Some courses are less than 2 hours long – which is perfect for lunchtime learning – or more than 24 hours long, if you really want to dive head first into a subject.
Among the free soft skills courses currently available are:
- Hybrid working: starting in the workplace
- Working in diverse teams
- Effective communication in the workplace
- Succeed in the workplace
- Personal branding for career success
- The importance of interpersonal skills
- Managing my money for young adults
- Developing career resilience
- Understanding your sector
There are various reasons why people choose OpenLearn courses. Some sign up to find out what university level study is like or to help them choose which career they want to pursue.
Others enrol to demonstrate continuous development to their employer, or simply to find out more about a topic of interest.
Whatever your reason for broadening your mind, take your next step with The Open University.
Cheetah Transformation’s Marketing Director revealed to The OU what her company looks for in potential employees.
She said: “When we recruit, we know we it’s hard to find the software specific technical skills we need so we look for good basics, attitude and potential to train those skills.
- Good literacy & numeracy are essential
- Able to deliver/lead projects
- Great communication be that with customers or colleagues
- Able to resolve conflict & deal with challenges
- Able to work in a collaborative way & strive for continuous improvement
“For our senior team, we look for experience in other types of business – having done the job – so they understand the challenges & requirements that our customers may be facing.”
Chloe, a 22-year-old recent OU graduate who balanced her studies with a part-time job, shared her experience.
“It wasn’t until I applied for my NHS job that I realised what an impressive reputation the OU has with employers,” she said. “OU study demonstrates independence, self-motivation, organisation – qualities which the OU nurtures, and that really appeal to employers.”
The OU is currently enrolling students for paid courses starting in October, with a final deadline of 5 September. Studying with the OU equips students with more than a qualification – their vast arrange of courses are carefully designed to ensure young people gain a range of transferrable skills which are valued by employers and all students have access to their quality certifies, award-winning Careers and Employability Services.
For more information about these free courses and to start learning, visit the OpenLearn website here.
