What soft skills one should possess for better performance at work

1. Soft Skills
Prof.Surya Rathore
PrincipalScientist(Extension Information Systems)
ICAR–National AcademyofAgricultural Research
Management,Hyderabad
E-mail:suryarathore@naarm.org.in
(M) 8897124519

2. Introduction
 Possession of technical skills alone is no longer
sufficient for employees in the highly competitive
marketplace (Lazarus, 2013) of the 21st century
 The need for individual soft skills has taken on
heightened importance (Seetha, 2014)
 The most valuable employees in the organization
have a mix of both hard and soft skill competence
(Griffith & Hoppner, 2013)

4. Need for Soft Skills
 The new world is a place where technology is constantly improving and
influencing change in the workplace (Connell, Gough, McDonnell, &
Burgess, 2014).
 The new world includes diverse work groups who have the ability to
interact globally with different cultures
 The workforce mixture is changing. There is a combination of individuals
from multiple age groups including individuals near to retirement (Bailey,
2014).
 Included in the mix are people of different ethnicities and genders.
 Generational changes have resulted in the increased demand for soft skills
(Bailly, & Lene, 2013).

5. Importance of Soft Skills
 For a smooth professional
life
 For a more integrated
operation
 For more effective
management
 To integrate strategic goals
 For more appealing
personality
 To handle interpersonal
relations
 To take appropriate
decisions
 To communicate effectively
 To have good impression
and impact to gain
professional development

12. Basic communication skills profile
Communicatio
n
Order learnt Extent used Extent taught
Listening First First Fourth
Speaking Second Second Third
Reading Third Third Second
Writing Fourth Fourth First

17. Case IV
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20. Need
 Employability of individuals is reflected in the possession/
acquisition of soft skills, apart from technical knowledge.
 Soft skills are very much essential to be successful in their
lives as an entrepreneur or as an employee.
 In every sector, there are a set of skills that play an important
role for its betterment or in other words, leading to result-
based outcomes.

22. Agripreneurs
Soft
Skills
Entrepreneurial
processes

24. Some of the most important soft skills are
 Leadership
 Decision making
 Teamwork
 Communication
 Negotiation
 Conflict management
 Influencing
 Time management

25. Objectives
• To create awareness regarding
innovativeness and
entrepreneurship in agricultural
sector among agricultural
graduates
• To develop soft skills among the
undergraduate students of
Agricultural Universities

26. Brochure- Development of soft skills for
Entrepreneurship among Agri Graduates

27. Approach Used
1. Training of Trainers
To create awareness regarding innovativeness and entrepreneurship and to
develop soft skills among agricultural graduates, Participatory Training
Approach was followed.
 Academy trained the 34 faculty members of 23 State Agricultural
Universities (SAUs) as master trainers through Training of Trainers
 (ToT) workshop conducted at ICAR – NAARM, Hyderabad during
Sept. 17-18, 2019.
 This ToT was organized with an attempt to create a pool of master
trainers in SAUs who would in turn train the Agri-graduates in their

28. Training of Trainers Workshop on Development of Soft Skills for entrepreneurship
among Agri-graduates at ICAR-NAARM during 17-18, September 2019

29. 2. Students’ Awareness Programmes
 “Creating Jobs: A Training Manual for Prospective Agripreneurs”.
 This manual has been published to equip the agri-graduates of the
country with the necessary knowledge required for becoming
agripreneurs, and to develop soft skills among them to excel in the
competitive job market.

30. Methods used
 Experiential Learning: The fundamental source of learning of
this type is through one’s own experiences or others’
experiences. It has been proved that adults learn best through
their own experience. So, first, the experience was provided and
then the concept explained.
 Role plays: This was done through the re-enactment of past
experiences.
 Simulations and Structured Exercises: Simulation games and
exercises were introduced which were then debriefed to derive
broader insights about entrepreneurship development in
agriculture.
 Case Studies: Shared success stories through videos and some
cases which provided opportunities to look at the experiences of
other entrepreneurs empathetically and learn from them.

31.  Real-Life Examples: Shared real-life examples of agripreneurs,
and their experiences which also facilitated discussions to address
students’ queries.

32. Geographical Coverage
 Total 28 workshops were conducted in 23 State Agricultural
Universities(SAUs) representing 16 states. A total of 3108
agricultural and allied sector students were benefited through
these workshops comprising 1677 male and 1431 females.

33. Participants representing different states of India

34. Students Profile
Male
54%
Female
46%
Gender
1st Year
9%
2nd Year
11%
3rd Year
23%
4th Year
54%
5th Year
3%
Year of Study

35. 1.90%
4.02%
4.73%
5.37%
11.58%
12.74%
59.65%
0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00%
B.Sc Forestry
B. Sc Community Science
Agri Engineering
B.V.Sc & AH
Others
B.Sc Horticulture
B.Sc Agriculture
Discipline

36. Outcome
Knowledge Enhancement
 Students became aware of entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector.
 Students increased their awareness and deliberately practised the skills
necessary to increase confidence and agency; foster self-efficacy and self-
advocacy; improved their communication and problem-solving skills,
managed strong impulses and feelings; and identified personal purpose.
 Students become aware of the Government initiatives & support for
Entrepreneurship among Agri-graduates.
 Students developed the knowledge about Innovations & Start-ups in
agriculture & allied sector.

37. Skills
 Students have improved communication skills for career development.
 Students are able to plan, organize, and execute a project or new
venture with the goal of bringing new agricultural products and service
to the market:
 Students have improved their interpersonal and collaborative skills

38. Conclusion
 A lot of awareness has been created among the budding Agri graduates through
these workshops carried out in 23 State Agricultural Universities(SAUs)
representing 16 states.
 To make it sustainable and a regular feature, Career Development Centres
(CDCs) have been created under NAHEP component 2A in Universities.
 In future, it is expected to convert the training and placement cells of
Universities to CDCs for better guidance and counselling to our agri-graduates.

39. Group activity by UG students @ BUAT, Banda, UP
Group photo of students @
CSKHPKV, Palampur, Himachal
Pradesh
Registration process for the workshop by
the students @ PAU, Ludhiana, Punjab

40. Most needed Soft Skills in 2022
 Growth mindset: An ability to learn
continuously and willingness to adapt
to change
 Creativity: Developing new ideas,
applying new solutions to address
existing problems
 Focus mastery: Harnessing
concentration to make better short- and
long-term decisions
 Innovation: Improving upon an
existing idea, concept, process or
method to achieve a desired outcome
 Communication skills: Interpreting
information though speaking, listening
and observing
 Storytelling: Organizing thoughts and data
points into a comprehensive, holistic
narrative
 Culture awareness: Ability to effectively
interact, work and develop meaningful
relationships with those of various cultural
backgrounds within the organization
 Critical thinking: Objective analysis and
evaluation in order to form a judgment on a
topic
 Leadership: Providing guidance within an
organization
 Emotional intelligence: Practicing control,
expression and observation of interpersonal
relationships among people in a workplace